Firm Belief--Truth, Boldness, Self-Reliance (study for over-door, Old Senate Office Building)
ca. 1916
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mae Schaettle
Accession Number
1966.32.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Firm Belief—Truth, Boldness, Self-Reliance** is a captivating preparatory drawing by Louis Schaettle, created around 1916 as a study for an over-door mural in the Old Senate Office Building. This neoclassical gem in Washington, D.C., embodies the era's grand architectural ambitions, where symbolic art reinforced democratic ideals amid World War I's uncertainties. Schaettle, known for his contributions to public monuments, captured allegorical virtues—truth, boldness, and self-reliance—in a dynamic figure group, likely featuring an angelic form to evoke inspiration and moral fortitude. As a ...