Spring 2009

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A Discussion of Curtiss Hall Architectural Ornamentation

The following information was compiled by ISU student Brandon Scott in 2006 as part of historical research for ISU's Sesquicentennial celebration. Brandon, who graduated in journalism in 2007, contacted several sources, listed at the bottom, for their insights.

In 1906, Proudfoot & Bird (now Brooks, Borg & Skiles) of Des Moines broke ground for Agricultural Hall on the Iowa State campus. Construction was completed in 1909 and the $318,000 building was dedicated June 9. Among those in attendance were the U.S. Agriculture Secretary James Wilson and Henry Wallace, editor of Wallaces Farmer. In 1947, Agricultural Hall was rededicated as Curtiss Hall in honor of Charles F. Curtiss, who served as dean of agriculture for 30 years.

The west-facing front of Curtiss Hall is adorned with architectural ornamentation and decoration. On the pediment is what appears to be a goddess-like figure holding a scythe and a sheaf of wheat. On either side of the front entrance are what look like cattle skulls. They are, in fact, bucrane: ox heads. Written records do not elaborate on the meaning of the figures. We asked some experts for their opinions.

The experts all agreed that the architecture was of Roman influence and in one way or another related to the divine.

John Cunnally, professor of art and design at ISU, say the decorations are reminiscent of those that appeared at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. “They show what was prevalent in American architecture of the time. The Neoclassic style architecture of the fair was the latest stylistic development in America, and allegorical figures like these were characteristic of it. They were inspired by ancient Roman art and architecture.”

“Like the other Beaux-Arts style buildings designed by the Des Moines firm of Proudfoot and Bird (including Beardshear Hall and Marston Hall), it was meant to be decorated with ancient classical motifs to evoke the grandeur and dignity of Greece and Rome,” says Cunnally.

Madeleine Henry, professor of world languages and cultures, says, “As a pair of images, these are interesting because the first one concerns the vegetative aspects of agriculture. The second concerns livestock as a part of agriculture; the skull connects death with livestock’s role. Both reliefs connect agriculture to the divine. The figure with fruits is very reminiscent of nature-god imagery.

Who exactly is depicted in the sculpture on the pediment is less certain.

John Maves, assistant professor of architecture, says, “I assume that the female figure in the circular sculpture (tondo) . . . is Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, who was Demeter to the Greeks.”

Cunnally agrees, saying that the typical ancient Roman depiction of Ceres shows her holding a sheaf of wheat like the Curtiss Hall sculpture. “Ceres often appears in the 19th and early 20th century in engravings on postage stamps, bank notes and stock certificates, representing agricultural prosperity.” Cunnally noted there was a French postage stamp showing the head of Ceres crowned with grains and grape-vines and an engraving from a stock certificate showing Ceres with a scythe like the image in the Curtiss Hall pediment.

To most eyes, the sculpture clearly depicts a female naked from the waist up. But another opinion offered was that the figure was Triptolemus, the son of a king, who was the first human endowed by Ceres (or Demeter) with knowledge of agriculture.

Cunnally disagrees. “In antiquity, Triptolemus is normally shown with Ceres (Demeter) as a child receiving the gift of grain or else riding on a winged chariot, which he used to spread the art of agriculture around the world. So far as I know he never holds a scythe. The blueprints . . . indicate that the designers intended the figure to be a female. So Ceres, who is often shown with a scythe and bare-breasted in modern (Beaux-Arts) classicizing monuments and prints, is the obvious suspect.”

Henry believes the figure is a more general representation and not intended by any specific deity from antiquity. She says the goddess Ceres has been historically portrayed with more dignity — and more clothes. “Triptolemus, as a divinity associated with tilling, is not to my knowledge shown with a scythe.”

Some believe that the image is a general one and was not intended to be any specific deity or person from antiquity, but an embodiment of agriculture and its facets.

Henry says, “Right now I think the guess that the pediment figure is a general embodiment of agriculture, with no specific mythological figure, is a good one. The figure with fruits of the land seems generically fin-de-siecle with no specific classical antecedent. I think this creature is more of a ‘primitive’ or less-individuated spirit of plant growth.”

Wesley Shank, a retired campus historian, likes Henry’s interpretation. “It appears to be a symbol of agriculture. These are interpretation. They are wise estimates, not historic facts. They seem to be as close to the historic facts as we can come without further research.”

Cunnally maintains that the figure is Ceres. “The Beaux-Arts style of architecture which Proudfoot and Bird represented was a modern form of classicism, and they used classical motifs . . . In the classical repertoire, there is no generic spirit of agriculture. When the Greeks and Romans wanted to represent this concept (as on any number of ancient coins), they used the form of the goddess of grain, Ceres. We find her again as a popular figure in the Beaux Arts period on bank notes, postage stamps and public murals as a classical reference to prosperity in agriculture. Granted that the sculptor has rendered the figure in a somewhat androgynous way, the blueprint drawing is unambiguous in showing that a female goddess holding a scythe and a bundle or sheaf of wheat was intended.”

The skulls are bucrania, Latin for “ox skulls.” (The singular is “bucranium.”) Popular in Roman architecture, bucrania often were found on the walls of Roman temples representing animals sacrificed inside of the buildings.

Cunnally says, “The bucrania were often decorated or framed with garlands of leaves, flowers and fruit called festoons. It is interesting to note that the bucrania on Curtiss Hall are skulls of modern dairy cows, with wide heads and short horns, not the longhorn cattle that we see in the ancient bucrania. Also, it appears that the skulls are anatomically correct, with realistic sutures between the bones. So perhaps the anonymous sculptor was being advised by one of the large-animal veterinarians of the College!”

Henry says the skulls are not garlanded as profusely as some ancient bucrania, but there is a rosette on the top of the skulls. (Henry adds that the most famous bucrania are on the walls of the Altar of Augustan Peace in Rome and on the frieze of a temple often attributed to Vesta at Tivoli.)

Partially obscured by the bucrania are the words “Dedicated to E___.” Our experts believed that the “E” word was most likely “education.”

Other Interesting Facts About Curtiss Hall:

• The surveyors originally suggested that the building be constructed 100 feet west of its current location. The plans were changed in order not to mar the beauty of central campus.
• In a meeting held April 14, 1914, the Board of Trustees approved to set aside $225 from the Repair and Contingent Fund to add a women’s restroom.

Special thanks to

• John Cunnally (Art & Design ISU)
• Madeleine Henry (World Language & Cultures)
• Becky Jordan (ISU Archives and Special Collections)
• John Maves (Architecture ISU)
• Dean Morton (University Architect ISU)
• Wesley Shank (Former Architectural Historian ISU)

Sources

• ISU Archives & Special Collections
• Ames Public Library
• “Iowa State Campus and its Buildings” by H. Summerfield Day.