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Justice in West Virginia by Richard Haas
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography
Justice in West Virginia
Photo CreditCarol M. Highsmith Photography

Justice in West Virginia

Artist
Year1999
Classification painting
Medium polymer on canvas
DimensionsVarying
Credits Commissioned through the Art in Architecture Program
Fine Arts Collection
U.S. General Services Administration
Location
  • Haas worked closely with the architects to develop a series of murals that would harmonize with the color palette and architecture of the space.




    Since the wall opposite the main entrance is the center of the space, Haas wanted to ensure that people would immediately know what the building is about.  Using faux relief painting he depicted a seated figure of Justice, with the Supreme Court building behind her.  Flanking the figure are painted pilasters, complementing the real architectural detail of the wall.  Above the image of Justice is a frieze, influenced by one in the Supreme Court building, alluding to the history of the court.  All of the work appears three-dimensional, even though it is flat.   




    Around the room, at the clerestory window level, are panels depicting forests and scenes of the beautiful West Virginia landscape.  The flora and fauna are those indigenous to the state, such as the rhododendron.  These panels seem to be cut into the wall, revealing a natural landscape.  At the top of each panel is the blue sky, relating the murals to the sky visible through the windows. 




    The third element of his design, are faux relief plaques above each of the four doorways at the ends of the lobby.  On the courthouse end is John Jay, with the original courthouse behind him, and John Marshall, with the Supreme Court as a background.  Jay was on the first Supreme Court, and Marshall is from the general area and is one of the most famous justices in American history.  At the Internal Revenue Service end of the lobby will be medallions showing the two sides of the 1907 Liberty Quarter, designed by renowned sculptor Augustus Saint Gaudens.  One side showing the American eagle and the other the allegorical figure of Liberty.