It’s understandable that men and women entering the Shelby County Courthouse might be distracted by other matters — legal woes, a pending verdict, an important meeting with the Lauderdale attorneys. So, with all these things on their minds, I understand why most people might walk right by the massive statues that guard the entrances to the building without even giving them a second glance. And that’s a shame, because by any standards they are some of the finest public art in our city.
The courthouse opened in 1910 to replace a jumbled collection of courtrooms that had previously been jammed into rented space in the Overton Hotel at Main and Poplar. A plaque outside the building notes that this is the largest and most ornate courthouse in Tennessee, and who would argue with that? The entire building, which takes up a whole city block, exudes what the authors of Memphis: An Architectural Guide call “serene, classical confidence.”
Many people have said the same about me.
For our new downtown landmark, the city fathers wisely chose the sturdiest materials (blue limestone from a quarry outside Bedford, Indiana), and best designers for this important civic project. Then as now, Memphis rarely does anything without forming a committee, and so a courthouse building committee was assembled, which selected the prestigious firm of Rogers and Hale, with offices in New York and Chicago. James Gamble Rogers would be the primary architect, and according to the official Report of the Commission published in 1910, he “was found to be specially qualified in designing buildings of a monumental nature.”
For the ornamentation, the committee chose a prominent artist, J. William Rhyne, to carve six much-larger-than-life figures to guard the west and south entrances of the courthouse. Each figure is different, presenting Wisdom, Justice, Liberty, Peace, Prosperity, and Authority. Rumors persist that a Lauderdale served as the model for the imposing Roman figure of Authority (shown here), and I do see a distinct family resemblance.
Each was carved from a single block of limestone and then hoisted into place. I don’t know how much they weigh, but one day I leaned against one, and it didn’t budge, so in purely scientific terms I think we can say they are “mighty heavy.”
Born in Scotland in 1860, Rhyne moved to this country in the late 1800s. He rather quickly established a reputation as one of America’s most gifted sculptors, and today the many monuments and memorials he carved grace public buildings, cemeteries, and parks from Washington, D.C., to Washington state. Perhaps his best-known works are the imposing figures of “Victory” and “Peace” that adorn the entrance to Grant’s Tomb in New York City.
The Report of the Commission details the budget for the original construction. This massive building, with all its marble and limestone and brass and hand-carved details, cost the county just a bit over $1.5 million. Rhyne charged just $5,000 for each of the massive figures by the doors. He also carved many other decorative elements for the building, including the elaborate pediments, bringing his total bill to precisely $74,302.10.
That’s probably what it would cost to carve just one of these statues today.
