Robert Ingersoll Aitken

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Ingersoll Aitken (May 8, 1878 – January 3, 1949) was an American sculptor.

Born in San Francisco, his works include the Science fountain and Great Rivers statues at the Missouri State Capitol, the "Iron Mike" statue at Parris Island, South Carolina, several military sculptures at West Point, and the Temple of Music and the Dewey Monument in San Francisco, California.

Perhaps his most famous work is the West Pediment of the United States Supreme Court building, which bears the inscription is Equal Justice Under Law.^[1] The sculpture, above the entrance to the Supreme Court building, is of nine figures — Lady Liberty surrounded by figures representing Order, Authority, Council, and Research. These allegorical figures were in fact sculptures of real people who had a role in the creation of the building. Aitken himself is depicted in the pediment, seated to the proper left of Liberty with Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes.

[edit] References

• The West Pediment - Information Sheet. Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved on March 17, 2007.

[edit] External links

• Smithsonian Art Museum's list of works