Pint of Postdoc Speaker Recap - Dr. Jodi Rodgers

“Edwin Austin Abbey and the American Renaissance 1876-1917”

Dr. Jodi Rodgers

Edited by:

Jennifer Blackburn (assisted by Aileen Fernandez)

Abstract:

In a rush of the post–Civil War construction of capitol buildings, courthouses, libraries, train stations, art museums, and other “palaces for the people,” painters and sculptors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries tested their talents in civic art programs. In an upcoming exhibition, entitled Edwin Austin Abbey and the American Renaissance, The Yale University Art Gallery will showcase American civic monuments constructed during the American Renaissance (1876-1917) and offer fresh perspectives on the attitudes at the time. For our September 2020 Pint of Postdoc series, Jodi shared a piece of work that is the focus of her attention: The Spirit of Light mural, by the artist Edwin Austin Abbey (1852-1911), which is in the main rotunda of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building in Harrisburg. The Spirit of Light is part of a series of murals to celebrate the history of the Commonwealth, commissioned in 1902 by the architect Joseph Miller Huston (1866-1940). The Spirit of Light mural presents the kerosene flame as a pivotal example of scientific innovation in Pennsylvania and retains relevance today as elected officials continue to debate the current climate crisis.