Adjacent to the western entrance of the Main Capitol building sit the monumental Barnard statue groups. These two sets of statues represent one of the most visible pieces of artwork in the Capitol Complex and also stand as one of the most difficult pieces of artwork to maintain because of Pennsylvania’s sometimes harsh winters.
Bellefonte native George Grey Barnard was selected in 1902 by Capitol architect Joseph Huston to design statuary for all the Capitol’s entrances. This meant that smaller groups of statues would be placed at the Senate and House wing entrances, with a large central group at the main entrance. Barnard immediately began producing sketches and drawings for the twenty-seven figures at the Main entrance. After these were completed, he traveled to France to set up a studio and began sculpting them.
By 1904, while still at work on the main groups, the Capitol Building Commission decided to scale back production of the artwork and cancel their request for the north and south entrance sculptures. Although upsetting, this setback allowed Barnard to focus on just the massive groups for the building’s main entrance. However, none of the statues would be completed in time for the building’s dedication in October of 1906.
By 1910 the large groups were completed. They were titled Love and Labor: The Unbroken Law and The Burden of Life: The Broken Law. The rough sculpting for the groups was done by the famed Piccirilli Brothers and the finished works were exhibited at the Paris Salon, with praise from Barnard’s contemporaries such as Auguste Rodin.
Finally on October 4, 1911, after nine years of work and exactly five years after the dedication of the Capitol, the Barnard statues were dedicated in front of a crowd of 5,000 people. Noted dignitaries included former Gov.s James A. Beaver and Samuel W. Pennypacker, and Capitol artist Violet Oakley.
Though Barnard intended the statues to appear as “classical nudes,” sentiment in early 20th century Harrisburg was that the “immodest” areas should be covered. Barnard begrudgingly acceded and fitted the statues with marble sheaths that still cover the statues today.
From the time they were installed, the Barnard statues began to undergo the harmful affects of age, weather, and environment. In 1928, Piccirilli Brothers inspected the statues for damage. They cleaned them in 1935. Throughout the remainder of the 20th century the statues were subjected to smoke from coal fires, soot from industries, biological growth, yearly freezing and thawing, and at times invasive and detrimental cleaning.
By the 1990s it was necessary to completely remove and conserve the statues one by one to keep microscopic cracks in the marble from destroying them. Currently, the statues undergo yearly summer maintenance which minimizes damagesand ensures that costly long-term restoration will not be necessary. This cleaning ensures that the Barnard groups, one of the Capitol’s most priceless works of art, will remain for years to come.
