bases are finished with beautiful friezes, one symbolic of the Sun of
Truth, the other of the Peace of Night. Winged mermen support the upper
basin; sea-creatures gambol in the lower.



Column of Progress
In the Forecourt of the Stars



One of the most serious and thoughtful works of the Exposition sculpture
is the Column of Progress which faces the bay at the end of the
Forecourt of Stars. This column represents with direct imagery the
upward progress of man. The shaft itself is sculptured with
conventionalized waves in a gradually ascending spiral, upon which a
repeated vessel, the Ship of Life, sails upward, indicating the slow
upward rise of our life. The lower panels, significant of man's
endeavors, are described on the following page. The crowning group, "The
Adventurous Bowman," noble in intent and in sculptural power, is from
the hand of Hermon A. MacNeil. At the highest point of man's
achievement, stands this Adventurous Bowman, the super-hero, the leader,
the man with insight into the future, who shoots his arrow into the Sun
of Truth. Behind him the next man supports and is protected, by him.
Beside him kneels the woman with his reward in her hands. The frieze
beneath the group shows the Burden-Bearers on whose shoulders the hero
stands - an arresting thought; reminder of the true values in modern
life.