Finishing the Cathedral of Learning

Harry W. Scheuch, Finishing the Cathedral of Learning, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.42
Copied Harry W. Scheuch, Finishing the Cathedral of Learning, 1934, oil on canvas, 40 1⁄4 x 30 1⁄4 in. (102.3 x 76.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor, 1964.1.42

Artwork Details

Title
Finishing the Cathedral of Learning
Artist
Date
1934
Location
Dimensions
40 1⁄4 x 30 1⁄4 in. (102.3 x 76.9 cm.)
Credit Line
Transfer from the U.S. Department of Labor
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • New Deal — Public Works of Art Project — Pennsylvania
  • Allegory — arts and sciences — education
  • Cityscape — season — winter
  • Architecture — vehicle — truck
  • Occupation — industry — construction
  • Figure group
Object Number
1964.1.42
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1964.1.42

Artwork Description

Workers scurry like busy ants to complete the University of Pittsburgh's lofty Cathedral of Learning. The men and trucks trample the winter's snow into mud as they labor through the frigid winter of 1933–1934 to house much-needed new classrooms. Carpenters nail timbers together to finish the scaffolding. The main part of the structure rises at the upper right, already clad in limestone blocks, while masons are still covering the lower stories of the façade in stone. Behind the Cathedral of Learning stand the gleaming white columns of the Mellon Institute Building, which was also under construction.

Artist Harry Scheuch painted the Cathedral of Learning twice for the PWAP. The first image is a close-up view of the masons at work(1964.1.157), while this second painting (1964.1.42) is a more distant view that reveals the horde of workers involved. Together the two paintings tell the story of this mighty undertaking. The forty-two-story structure was not substantially completed until 1937, and some interior work continued for decades after that. Like the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge, the Cathedral of Learning demonstrated that the Great Depression could not stop Americans from accomplishing great things.

1934: A New Deal for Artists exhibition label

Luce Center Label

Harry W. Scheuch painted this image in 1934, three years before the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh was finished. The cathedral was built to solve the university's problems with overcrowding and to "convey a mood of power" to both students and residents of the city (Brown, The Cathedral of Learning, Exhibition Catalogue, 1987). The workers scurry around the base like ants, carrying equipment back and forth to the giant structure, which is the second tallest educational building in the world after Russia's Moscow State University. The project struggled for money during the Depression, and hundreds of schoolchildren contributed dimes to "buy a brick" and help complete the work. Here, Scheuch emphasized the dramatic scale of the cathedral against the tiny workers to show what can be achieved when people work together.

Related Books

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1934: A New Deal for Artists
During the Great Depression, president Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised a “new deal for the American people,” initiating government programs to foster economic recovery. Roosevelt’s pledge to help “the forgotten man” also embraced America’s artists. The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) enlisted artists to capture “the American Scene” in works of art that would embellish public buildings across the country. Although it lasted less than one year, from December 1933 to June 1934, the PWAP provided employment for thousands of artists, giving them an important role in the country’s recovery. Their legacy, captured in more than fifteen thousand artworks, helped “the American Scene” become America seen.