Next comes Summer, the time of Fruition. (p. 94.) Above the fountain the
mother gives the new-born child to its happy father, and the servant
brings the first fruits of the harvest. This is less likable than the
other groups. The posture of the mother is not a happy one. The two
murals picture Summer and Fruition. Bancroft has taken athletic games as
the symbol of the season. Summer is crowning the victor in aquatic
sports. Conventional symbols of fruits and flowers represent Fruition.

In the group of Autumn, Providence is the central figure, directing the
Harvest. She is bringing in the juice of the grape. The season is
significantly represented in the full modeling of the figures and the
maturity of the adults. The mural of Autumn, in the rich colors of the
dying year, suggests by its symbols of wine and music, the harvest
festival. Opposite, is pictured the Harvest, with the garnered crops.

Last of all is Winter, with the bare desolation of the wintry world in
the melancholy fountain group. Then Nature rests in the season of
conception, while a man sows, his companion having prepared the ground.
In his mural of Winter, Bancroft pictures the snowy days, the fuel piled
against the cold, the chase of the deer, the spinning in the long
evenings. The companion piece represents the festival side of the
season, when men have time to play. The Seasons are complete.

On the walls of the half-dome are two formal paintings by Bancroft,
conventional but charming in their allegory. These are Bancroft's best
murals. In the first, Time crowns Art, while her handmaids, Painting,
Pottery, Weaving, Glass-making, Metal-working and Jewel-making, stand in
attendance. In the other, Man is taught the laws of Love, Life, and
Death, Earth, Fire, and Water.