Southwest Federal Center in Southwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Family Group
1940
— granite —
Emma Lou Davis' Family Group depicts a father taking leave of his wife and child to go to work. Davis captured the couple at an affectionate moment and portrayed each figure with a sign of their day's labor—a lunch pail for the man and a bowl for the woman. Below, a child pulls at the hem of the mother's dress alluding to another of her responsibilities. The profile carved around the figures represents the embrace of the state and the guarantee of the household's security. The family no longer has to worry about disability or unemployment thanks to the benefits offered by the Social Security Administration.
Emma Lou Davis was one of the few women chosen for a prestigious fine arts commission by the government during the New Deal. Family Group was one of two bas relief panels carved for the exterior of the new Social Security Administration headquarters. The complimentary panels are mounted above the Fourth and C Streets SW entrances of the building and depict the role of the state in providing for the long term security of the individual and family. The panels are chiseled into nine-by-eight-foot slabs of dark gray granite and polished to a high gloss. The Section of Fine Arts dictated the color and sheen of the granite in order to unify the work of three artists: Emma Lou Davis and Henry Kreis, each of whom created two reliefs at this building, and Robert Kittredge, who completed a pair of reliefs for the Mary E. Switzer Building across the street.
Erected by Fine Arts Collection, U.S. General Services Administration.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Charity & Public Work • Government & Politics • Women.
Location. 38° 53.184′ N, 77° 0.983′ W. Marker is in Southwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Southwest Federal Center. Marker is on C Street Southwest just west of 3rd Street Southwest, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 330 Independence Avenue Southwest, Washington DC 20024, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Railroad Employment (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Railroad Retirement (about 300 feet away); Unemployment Compensation (about 300 feet away); The Benefits of Social Security (about 300 feet away); The Growth of Social Security (about 400 feet away); Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial (about 500 feet away); Nora Naranjo-Morse (about 600 feet away); a different marker also named Nora Naranjo-Morse (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Southwest Washington.
More about this marker. The marker is on the south side of the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building.
Also see . . . Emma Lu Davis. Wikipedia article about Davis. Her middle name was spelled Lu or Lou in her lifetime. (Submitted on July 2, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.)
Additional keywords. Family Group
Credits. This page was last revised on July 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 2, 2023. This page has been viewed 59 times since then and 6 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 2, 2023.
Editor’s want-list for this marker. A better photo of the bas relief • Can you help?