Henry F. Schricker

Anthony de Francisci, Henry F. Schricker, 1939, metal: brass/electotype, 9 ¹⁄₂ x 5 ⁷⁄₈ x ⁵⁄₈ in. (24.0 x 15.0 x 1.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Gilda Slate, 1966.110.47

Artwork Details

Title: Henry F. Schricker
Artist: Anthony de Francisci
Date: 1939
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 9 ¹⁄₂ x 5 ⁷⁄₈ x ⁵⁄₈ in. (24.0 x 15.0 x 1.5 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Gilda Slate
Mediums: brass
Mediums Description: metal: brass/electotype
Classifications: Sculpture
Relief
Subjects: Landscape — Indiana
Animal — buffalo
Occupation — political — governor
Emblem — seal
Portrait male — Schricker, Henry F. — bust
Object — written matter — map
Object Number: 1966.110.47
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1966.110.47

Artwork Description

Anthony de Francisci's artist's sample is shaped like the state of Indiana in honor of Henry F. Schricker. Elected governor from 1941-45 and 1949-53, Schricker is the only Indiana governor to have served two nonconsecutive terms. In 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt invited Schricker to run for the office of vice president, but he declined. At the upper right of the sample, nineteen stars surround a torch, symbolizing Indiana's incorporation in 1816 as the nineteenth state in the union. The state seal appears at the lower left and depicts a running buffalo, sycamore trees, and a woodsman with an ax. The rustic imagery coincides nicely with Schricker's interest in the Boy Scouts. In 1912, he formed the first Boy Scout troop in Starke County, Indiana.