Description
The Alma Mater is a patinaed bronze figure of a woman in academic robes. She stands in front of a throne with her arms outstretched in welcome. The attendant figure "Labor" is a male who stands to her (proper) right and wears a blacksmith's apron. At his feet lays a sheaf of papers. The proper left figure "Learning" is a female robed a classical gown with a sun bas-relief on front. Learning and Labor extend their hands in a handshake over the throne. The work stands approximately 13-feet tall. The granite base carries three inscriptions:
- Front: "ALMA MATER / To thy happy children / of the future / those of the past / send greetings"
- Left (Green St side): "Given to the university / by the sculptor / the alumni fund / and the senior classes of / 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929."
- Right (Altgeld side): "Her children arise up and call her Blessed" Proverbs 31-28.
The long flowerbed stretching from the front of the Alma Mater to the corner of Green Street and Wright Street is known as the Alma Mater Plaza.
Read more about this topic: Alma Mater (Illinois Sculpture)
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