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.