Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
1995
Abstract
Augustus Vincent Tack (1870-1949) was the first of eight artists who executed murals in the Nebraska state capitol. His involvement began in fall 1923, when he was asked by the architect, Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (1869- 1924), to plan a program of mural decorations for the governor's suite of offices, located in the first part of the capitol to be completed. His murals were installed four years later, and the rooms were opened to the public on 1 January 1928. Tack's work was thus conceived, executed, and installed several years before the construction of the capitol was completed in 1932. At first glance, the Tack murals, with their late medieval feeling, may seem archaic and perhaps lacking congruence with the spirit of the building. Further investigation, however, reveals them to be in perfect harmony with the architect's intentions.
Comments
Published in Great Plains Quarterly 15:4 (Fall 1995). Copyright © 1995 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.