Four Depression-Era Courthouse Images: Truth, Justice, Equality, and Liberty

Publication Date: 1930

About this Item

Four Illustrated panels. Three measuring 28¼" x 35" and one measuring 33" x 25¾". Offset lithography printed onto fine metal screens with deep wooden frames. The mesh has a semi-opaque surface that can be backlit to illuminate the images. Some small abrasions, a small hole at the lower left of one panel, and some areas skillfully restored, very good. Suite of four illustrated allegorical panels depicting the principles of American law: "Truth," "Justice," and "Equality." The panels together form a unified whole with blind "Justice" at the center with the sword of mercy and the scale of justice. On the left, "Truth" proffers an open book, an emblem of codified or constitutional law, while on the right, "Equality" holds two men in sphere at equal heights, notably one is black demonstrating visually the principle of equality before the law. The fourth images shows the figure of "Liberty" with a laurel wreath of victory cradling the American Flag, evoking the principle of liberty under law. The panels were displayed in courthouses in the United States. All four of the panels appear to be by the same uncredited artist in a design and style that incorporate both Arts and Crafts and Art Deco elements favored by artists of the New Deal-era Federal Art Project, sponsored by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). A nice collection of hopeful and patriotic images.

Seller Inventory # 440739

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Four Depression-Era Courthouse Images: Truth, Justice, Equality, and Liberty
• Publication Date: 1930
• Binding: Unbound
• Condition: Near Fine