Courthouse Sculptures – Erie PA

Description

According to the website of the General Services Administration “Young American Man and Young American Woman act as sentinels to the main courtrooms of the 1937 Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Erie, Pennsylvania. These two sculptures express the admirable qualities possessed by the young men and women of depression-era America. Kreis communicated the upstanding nature of the figures through his use of monumental, simple forms, and by leaving out any unessential or frivolous details. Further evidence of their moral rectitude is cleverly expressed by the inclusion of the man’s faithful dog, which regards his human companion with complete devotion. The aluminum material and minimal forms reflect the stripped classicist, or Art Deco, style of the period, and complement the scale and simplicity of the lobby space for which the sculptures were created. Kreis was selected for this commission by the Section of Fine Arts based upon his design entry for the Federal Trade Commission Building in Washington, D.C.”