The Minnesota State Capitol opened in 1905 with roughly 60 artworks that totaled $300,000, or 7% of the $4.5-million project budget. Cass Gilbert, the architect of the Capitol building, had envisioned that the artworks would add "educational value" and provide for the "advancement of civilization and intelligence." Over the years, more artworks would be added to the Capitol, totaling nearly 150 by 2017. Much of the Capitol art is allegorical, as expressed through murals and sculptures, while some feature key moments in Minnesota history. While the allegorical symbolism used in the paintings would have been more widely understood during the time they were painted, over time the meanings have been challenged.
The Capitol rotunda, and each of the three chambers contain important murals expressed in allegorical symbolism created by Edward Emerson Simmons, Kenyon Cox, Edwin Howland Blashfield, Henry Oliver Walker, John La Farge. The four Supreme Court Chamber murals were painted by La Farge to illustrate four key moments in the history of law. The Minnesota House Chamber features a sculpture by Carlo Brioschi called the Minnesota Spirit of Government which features Sacagawea, and French explorers. The Minnesota Senate Chamber contains two murals by Edwin Blashfield; Minnesota: Granary of the World shows Minnesota as a leader in agriculture, Civil War contributions and the transition to mechanization. The second mural, Discoverers and Civilizers Led to the Source of the Mississippi depicts Native Americans and the spirit of Manitou at the headwaters of Mississippi surrounded by "discoverers" and "civilizers" who are guided from above by angelic beings signifying divine manifest destiny. Decorating the interior of the dome, Elmer Garnsey and his assistant Arthur Willett created the twelve zodiac lunettes as well as lunettes on either side of the east and west grand staircases. Arguably the most familiar allegorical work at the Capitol is gilded sculpture group, The Progress of the State sculpted by Daniel Chester French and Edward Clark Potter seated above the main south entrance of the Capitol.
Multiple groups, notably American Civil War veterans and the Minnesota Historical Society along with politicians demanded that the artwork in the Capitol illustrate historic events of Minnesota's past and this resulted in the addition of six large paintings on Minnesota history in the Governor's Reception Room by artists Douglas Volk, Francis D. Millet, Howard Pyle, and Rufus Fairchild Zogbaum. In alcoves on the second floor of the Capitol, rotunda stand the larger-than-life statues of American Civil War heroes John B. Sanborn, Alexander Wilkin, William Colvill, and James Shields by sculptors John Karl Daniels, Catherine Backus, and Frederick Cleveland Hibbard. These works have been criticized by former Governor Mark Dayton, stating they should be replaced with new artwork that broadens the representation of Minnesota.
In 1971 the Minnesota Historical Society along with the Capitol Area Architectural Planning Board (CAAPB) were given control of all works of art and they created a "Policy for Works of Art in the Minnesota State Capitol" to define the process, procedures and guidelines for new art. From 2013 to 2017 the building underwent a $310 million extensive restoration. This included comprehensive cleaning and restoration of historic paintings, murals, and sculptures as well as decorative elements around and outside the building. During the renovation, numerous paintings were criticized for their portrayals of Native Americans and were either moved to locations where expanded interpretation could be given or were removed from the building entirely.
History In the planning of the Capitol building from 1896 to 1905, its architect Cass Gilbert had envisioned marble and bronze statuary on the exterior and numerous artworks in the interior. Gilbert sought out many of the finest artists of the period, such as Kenyon Cox, Elmer Garnsey, Edwin Howland Blashfield, Henry Oliver Walker, Edward Emerson Simmons, John La Farge, Douglas Volk, Francis D. Millet, Howard Pyle, and Rufus Fairchild Zogbaum.
In the 1901 architect report, Gilbert noted his vision for the art:
Much of the art planned for the Capitol was allegorical, as expressed through murals. As work continued after 1900 on the interior multiple groups, American Civil War veterans and the Minnesota Historical Society, along with politicians, demanded that the artwork in the Capitol illustrate historic events of Minnesota's past. In regards to The Progress of the State, one critic of the time encouraged Minnesotans to, "Take a sledge hammer and smash them Roman bronchos and that chariot! Clean 'em out and put a grand heroic statue of Alexander Ramsey in their stead!" The current ornate look of the Governor's Reception Room was partly a response to Minnesotans' suggestions for pictures from their own history which gave Gilbert the opportunity to upscale his plans for the room and to include six large paintings that span 200 years of the area's history. Gilbert advised the Board on the series of Civil War paintings for the Governor's Reception Room and expressed his disapproved of the four Civil War Alcove monuments on the second floor rotunda.
When the State Capitol opened in 1905 it had roughly 60 artworks that totaled $300,000, or 7% of the $4.5-million project budget. Additional art has been added inside the premises. In 1944, the custom of displaying governor portraits in the public corridors was initiated. Over the years artworks added to the Capitol total nearly 150 by 2017. In 1971, the Capitol Area Architectural Planning Board and the Minnesota Historical Society were entrusted to approve design, structural composition and location of all works of art.
2013–2017 renovation The Minnesota State Capitol underwent a comprehensive restoration project from 2013 to 2017, the first major renovation since the building first opened. The project also included a restoration of the capitol's many works of fine art. This was the first time the murals in the Capitol had comprehensive restoration plan. Before that any restoration work done to the murals was the result of an emergency circumstance or was done by workers often with brush and a pail of water to scrub off the grime accumulated on the murals from smoke, coal dust and other impurities approximately every two decades. Because the delicate murals are secured to their locations nearly all were restored in place. Conservation included extracting grime, old yellowed varnish, and any overpainting done in past restorations using solvents when they could but also applying a variety of small tools. Some murals needed removal from the walls due to the extent of damage and conservation work needed to the mural and/or the wall behind it. Specifically, five of dome's zodiac lunettes and the fourth panel in the Simmons's Civilization of the Northwest mural series in the rotunda required the challenging task of being removed from the walls to conservation labs.
During the renovations, numerous paintings depicting Native Americans were removed or moved to new locations where expanded interpretation could be done.
Capitol roof Quadriga and the Virtues
Located on the exterior above the southern entrance to the building is a gilded quadriga called The Progress of the State which was sculpted by Daniel Chester French and Edward Clark Potter, a specialist in equestrian and other animal sculptures who teamed up with French to create the four horses in the monument. The inspiration for the Minnesota quadriga, a group of figures entitled Progress of the State, was the Columbus Quadriga, a statue depicting Christopher Columbus standing in a four horse chariot guided by two maidens carrying staffs of victory, that French and Potter had modeled for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. Gilbert saw this quadriga group and made plans to have artists adapt it for Minnesota. It was completed and raised to the roof of the capitol in 1906. The quadriga arrangement is a style of statue reproducing ancient Greek and Roman four-horse chariots. The four horses represent the power of nature: earth, wind, fire and water. The women leading the horses symbolize agriculture and industry, and the man on the chariot represents Minnesota.
Re-gilding the sculpture in 23 karat gold leaf is necessary approximately every 20 years. Every year, the condition of the statuary is reviewed with conservators making slight repairs and touching up the gold leaf as necessary. The sculpture group underwent re-gilding in 1949 and again in 1979. In 1994/1995, the statues underwent a year-long restoration procedure which involved replacing the corroded steel supports inside each statue and replacing the gold leaf on the figures. The golden sphere perched on the lantern above the capitol dome had similar treatment. In 2014 the figure of the charioteer was removed and lowered to the ground to allow repairs to corrosion to the top surface of the chariot and was reinstalled in 2015. On May 7, 2016, the Quadriga was again removed from the roof in order to allow for roofing repairs below. During that time the statuary was relocated to nearby warehouse where it was re-gilded. On November 12, 2016 the Quadriga was re-installed on the Minnesota State Capitol roof.
Virtues The six marble figures on the façade located just under the Quadriga represent "the six virtues that support and assist the progress of the state – the underlying virtues of good citizenship," as explained in the 1907 official guide to the State Capitol endorsed by Gilbert. The four female and two male figures represent Wisdom, Courage, Bounty, Truth, Integrity, Prudence. According to custom in the turn-of-the-nineteenth-century, French did not carve the statues himself but rather modeled them in clay at half-size, then skilled stone cutters worked, shaped, and carved them in marble on the grounds of the Capitol. A failure in communication resulted in the delivered marble blocks for the Virtues were too small for the planned size of the statues. The resulting statues were reduced to a height of 65 inches rather than the planned 96 inches. The original marble statues, which had deteriorated from the effects of weather and pollution were replaced by marble replicas carved in the 1970s. The original plaster models for the virtues have dissipated over time. While the provenances for Wisdom and Truth have been tracked down, the models for Courage, Bounty, Integrity, and Prudence have vanished. Wisdom is located in collections of the Boston Athenaeum and Truth is at the collections in Art Institute of Chicago.
Dome Zodiacs The dome is divided into twelve vertical panels. Shallow penetrations at the base of the dome form lunettes over each of the twelve windows, in which two putti hold a framed symbol of the zodiac which suggests the constellations in the skies above. All were designed by Elmer Garnsey and painted by his assistant Arthur Willett.
In 2010 the half of the Gemini mural broke free. Because of work going on to the dome, its fall to the floor was interrupted by a tarp. The mural was later restored during the renovation of the Capitol from 2013 to 2017.
Rotunda artwork The four Civil War Alcove monuments In alcoves on the second floor of the Capitol, rotunda stand the larger-than-life statues of Civil War heroes John B. Sanborn, Alexander Wilkin, William Colvill, and James Shields. All four were prominent figures in 19th century Minnesota.