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The West Pediment

INFORMATION SHEET

The West Pediment, the sculptural group of nine figures above the entrance to the Supreme Court building, is the work of artist Robert I. Aitken (18781949). Cass Gilbert (18671934), the architect of the building, recommended Aitken for the task and gave him free rein in choosing the subject matter for the sculpture, requesting only that the composition "be worthy of the great Supreme Court." Mr. Aitken proposed a design incorporating nine allegorical figures, and described them as follows:

My simple Sculptural story is as follows: Liberty enthroned - looking confidently into the Future - across her lap the Scales of Justice - She is surrounded in the composition by two Guardian figures. On her right "Order" . . . On her left "Authority" . . . Then to the right and left . . . two figures each represent "Council." Then to the right and left . . . two figures represent "Research" Past and Present.

Blocks of rough-hewn marble were set into the pediment for Aitken's sculpture in September 1933. Carving of the nine figures began within a shed enclosing the pediment (below).

The West Pediment under construction-January 4, 1934

Office of the Curator Supreme Court of the United States Updated: 8/18/2000

The West Pediment

When the pediment was completed and the shed removed, many people were surprised to find that the six allegorical figures that flank the central grouping were, in fact, sculpted portraits of persons influential in the creation of the Court's new home. The figures from left to right (above) are:

Reclining on the far left is Chief Justice William Howard Taft, representing Research Present. He is portrayed as a student at Yale University, and is facing an English crown, a Pope's miter and a Bishop's crosier.

Second from left is former Senator Elihu Root, who introduced President Taft's bill to create Washington's Fine Arts Commission.

Third from left is the architect of the Supreme Court building, Cass Gilbert.

The three central figures are Authority, Liberty Enthroned and Order.

Third from the right is Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, who succeeded Taft as Chief Justice as well as Chairman of the Supreme Court Building Commission.

Second from right is Robert Aitken, sculptor of the pediment.

At the far right is John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 to 1835, representing Research Past. He is holding Roman scrolls, and is gazing at an urn, mosaic tables and an oil lamp, that rest at his feet.

The West Pediment's inscription, Equal Justice Under Law, was submitted to the Architect of the Capitol David Lynn by Cass Gilbert's architectural firm. The inscription was approved by the United States Supreme Court Building Commission headed by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes. If there was a source for Gilbert's submission, it is not known although Thomas Jefferson's 1801 inaugural address included the phrase "equal and exact justice to all men."

Office of the Curator Supreme Court of the United States All photographs by Franz Jantzen unless otherwise noted. Collections of the Supreme Court of the United States.