Seated Male Nude: Study for "Science" - Iowa State Capitol

Art Historical Context

Kenyon Cox’s 1905 drawing *Seated Male Nude: Study for “Science”* offers a fascinating glimpse into the careful preparation behind his mural for the Iowa State Capitol. Created in graphite pencil on laid paper and squared for transfer, the records the artist’s methodical approach to scaling a figure study to monumental proportions. The precisely ruled grid allowed Cox to enlarge the nude with accuracy when painting the final allegorical composition, a common practice among muralists of the American Renaissance. Measuring roughly 40 by 28 centimeters, the drawing demonstrates Cox’s academic training and his commitment to the human form as a vehicle for symbolic meaning. By studying the model in this direct, unadorned manner, Cox ensured that the figure of Science would convey both anatomical clarity and dignified presence within the Capitol’s decorative program. Today preserved in the National Gallery of Art’s collection as part of the John Davis Hatch Collection, the sheet invites visitors to appreciate the often unseen labor that shaped early twentieth-century public art. It reminds us that grand murals begin with quiet, precise studies on paper.

About the Artist

Kenyon Cox · 1856–1919

Kenyon Cox (1856–1919) was born on October 27 in Warren, Ohio, to General Jacob Dolson Cox, a prominent politician and Civil War veteran, and Helen Finney Cox. Despite fragile health, young Cox pursued art at the Art Academy of Cincinnati before advancing to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. In 1877, he traveled to Paris, studying first under Carolus-Duran, then at the Éco...