Commerce, by 1915

Sir Frank Brangwyn RA (1867 - 1956)

RA Collection: Art

A design for part of a ceiling painting, entitled 'Commerce'. In the centre, is a seated old man wearing a long robe and holding a model ship, with a small boy leaning on his knee and an anchor at his feet. On the right, is a semi-draped youth with wheels and a set of dividers at his feet. Around the main lunette design are various small sketches of patterns and decorative devices.

This drawing and 04/99 are both preparatory studies for the decoration of the domed rotunda ceiling of the Missouri State Capitol, Jefferson City, USA. This design relates to the painting on the dome itself on which Brangwyn depicted allegorical figures symbolising Agriculture, Commerce, Science and Education https://www.si.edu/object/eye-dome-painting%3Asiris_ari_362697. The whole decorative scheme also included four pendentives featuring the following scenes: Laclede parleying with the Indians, The Pioneers: Arrival of the Settlers, The Building of the New Home and Modern Industrial St. Louis.