Smarthistory – Public art, politics, and the banishing of Civic Virtue

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Civic Virtue

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Question 1

According to the video, a personification is:

A	A caricature of a specific individual.
B	The gestures and expressions of figurative sculpture.
C	An art historical tradition that uses human form to symbolize allegorical or abstract ideas.
D	A visual device developed as part of the Beaux-Arts style to symbolize political virtues and vices.

Question 2

Which of these statements most fully captures the reaction to Civic Virtue when it was first unveiled at City Hall Park in 1922?

A	It was seen as ugly due to the pock-marked and blackened marble surface.
B	The nude figures were considered inappropriate for public sculpture.
C	Politically active groups of women protested that the gender roles in the sculptural group should be reversed, with the female forms representing civic virtue and the male form representing civic vice.
D	The recent passage of the 19th amendment in 1919, granting women citizens the right to vote, created a context in which such a traditional composition which positions female forms below a heroic male figure was openly criticized.

Question 3

According to the speakers in the video, which of these false claims was made by critics of Civic Virtue when it was first completed?

A	That the female forms were modeled on specific activist women in the suffrage movement as a form of mockery.
B	That the sculptor, Frederick MacMonnies, was an anti-suffragist and intentionally relied on his training in the use of traditional, allegorical personification to convey his political stance.
C	That the male figure in the sculptural group was stomping on the necks of the female forms.
D	That the marble used to make the sculpture was acquired with money from political corruption.

Question 4

Why was Civic Virtue allowed to decay?

A	As concerns about the outdated gender dynamics and the symbolism of the sculptural group continued to resurface over time, political officials were not motivated to use taxpayer dollars to preserve the deteriorating marble surface.
B	Local preservationists did not understand that the position of the sculpture in Queens near a major highway was creating heightened exposure to acid rain and auto pollution.
C	It was considered desirable as a means to creating a more historical look to the sculpture.
D	Permissions necessary from the estate of Frederick MacMonnies to alter or treat the surface of the sculpture in any way were repeatedly denied.

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Key points

Commissioned in 1909 and completed in 1922, the marble sculpture Civic Virtue was produced in a time of transition artistically, socially, and politically. During this period, modern art and abstraction were introduced to viewers in the United States, shifting artistic interests and tastes; the 19th Amendment was passed, granting suffrage to women after years of protest and agitation; and urban beautification initiatives reflected broader progressive efforts to educate the masses as well as eradicate political corruption.
These changes impacted both the immediate reception of the sculpture and the trajectory of its physical presence in the city of New York up to the present day. Initially, negative reaction to the gendered power dynamics—a triumphant male figure standing above female figures—and more traditional style of the sculpture prompted multiple relocations of Civic Virtue. The sculpture was allowed to decay and experienced damage to its surface due to prolonged exposure to industrial pollution.

Go deeper

City Beautiful Movement, New York Preservation Archive Project

The Progressive Era, Khan Academy

Leaving all to younger hands: Why the history of the women’s suffragist movement matters, Susan Ware, The Brookings Institute

Learn about the trajectory of public sculpture in the United States at the turn of the 19th century and the place of the Beaux-Arts style therein. From Model to Monument: American Public Sculpture, 1865–1915 Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Frederick William MacMonnies (1863–1937) Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Civic Virtue at Green-Wood

Behind the Scenes: Public Sculpture in New York City, March 19, 2011, WNYC

Michele H. Bogart, The Politics of Urban Beauty: New York and its Art Commission, University of Chicago Press, 2006

More to think about

What does the concept of civic virtue mean to you? How might you represent it as a sculpture and why?

Smarthistory images for teaching and learning:

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Public art, politics, and the banishing of Civic Virtue

Test your knowledge with a quiz

Civic Virtue

Key points

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More to think about

Smarthistory images for teaching and learning:

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