THE INFLUENCE OF THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION AND OF THE WORLD’S
COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION ON ART IN THE UNITED STATES
The Centennial Exhibition of 1876 at Philadelphia marked a century of
progress. It aroused the country to its opportunities, after a period
of lethargy and unrest that followed the Civil War. A decade had
elapsed since the end of that terrible conflict, and a new day dawned.
President Grant gave the people confidence that he would guide the
affairs of the Nation safely as their Chief Executive. Industries were
established, commerce and trade developed, and prosperity followed.
The Philadelphia Centennial of 1876 brought a sense of the power of
the United States in material resources, coupled with an admission of
poverty in the things of the spirit, and a determination to remedy
shortcomings in this respect. The people then turned their attention to
the finer things of life and became interested in erecting monuments
and establishing art galleries. Thus, the Corcoran Art Gallery,
Washington, D. C., the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and the Boston
Museum of Fine Arts were chartered about the time of the centennial
celebration.
Again, in 1893, the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, had a great
effect on art in the United States. It stirred the whole world by
the production of beautiful and impressive groups of buildings, so
arranged and coordinated as to create the sense of unity in the whole
composition. The White City along the shores of Lake Michigan still
lives in the minds of many people to-day. The use of landscape effects,
of canals and basins, of statuary and paintings, all contributed to
impress the public and to lift people to new standards and ideals of
achievement. It marked the beginning of a new era of civic development.
In Chicago, for the first time, men saw the advantage of teamwork to
produce a result finer than anything before dreamed of. A number of the
great artists in the United States to-day served their apprenticeship
during the preparation of the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago.
Several of the artists served on the decorations of the Congressional
Library, which was completed in 1897. A considerable number of the
beautiful creations in architecture and sculpture in Washington
during the past 35 years by great artists reflect the experience and
inspiration received during that period.
[Illustration: WORLD’S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION, CHICAGO--COURT OF HONOR,
LOOKING EAST]
[Illustration: WORLD’S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION, CHICAGO--COURT OF HONOR,
LOOKING WEST]
A most remarkable result of the aesthetic achievements of the World’s
Columbian Exposition was the influence it had on the architecture
of several national expositions which were held at the close of the
nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. The first of
these expositions was the Trans-Mississippi Exposition, which was held
at Omaha, Nebr., 1897-1898. Several classical buildings were erected
for it, as were erected also for the Pan-American Exposition, held at
Buffalo, N. Y., in 1901, to emphasize the progress of Americans of the
western continents during the nineteenth century. Then followed the
Louisiana Purchase Exposition, which ranks as the third great World’s
Fair held in this country in 1904, in celebration of the one hundredth
anniversary of the transfer of the Louisiana Territory by France to the
United States, during the administration of President Jefferson. It is
significant that as Thomas Jefferson had introduced the classical style
of architecture into this country, so at this Exposition most of the
15 largest buildings resembled in character the classical buildings of
the Chicago World’s Fair. The next exposition in which architecture
had an important part was the Alaska-Yukon Pacific Exposition, held at
Seattle, Wash., in 1909. Again the classical style of architecture was
emphasized, and, as at the Chicago Exposition, the buildings had an
ivory-white appearance. It was stated at the time:
The influences of an Exposition are of course many, but one of the
most palpable influences of our American expositions has been their
power to stimulate a powerful interest in architecture and building.
The beneficent influence of the Chicago World’s Fair on our
architecture is of inestimable value, not only for the architects
but for the entire country. Many Americans owe their interest in
buildings and architecture to a visit to Chicago in 1893, just as
many cities and towns recall in their municipal and government
structures the revival of classic splendor seen in the stucco palaces
of the World’s Fair.
The next exposition of importance was the Panama-Pacific Exposition at
San Francisco, Calif., held in 1915. In 1906 almost the entire central
part of the city had been destroyed by a frightful earthquake and fire.
In less than a decade the city was rebuilt, and by 1915 there had
also been planned and constructed the great Exposition. Its principal
buildings were built in the classical style of architecture.