CHICAGO, IL.- This Amazonian beauty once towered over the Chicago skyline at 18 feet tall, making the Montgomery Ward headquarters the tallest building in the Windy City for over 20 years. In 1947, the Progress Lighting the Way For Commerce weathervane was dismantled and cut into 30 pieces. The remnants were claimed by astute souvenir-seeking Chicagoans. A Chicago Tribune article from July 20, 1947 reports that a prominent Chicagoan requested her bust! At that time, the David V. Nelson family acquired the head of “Progress” which will be offered at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers on November 4 in the 20th Century Decorative Arts auction.

In 1898 Richard E. Schmidt was hired to add a tower to the existing Montgomery Ward building at 6 North Michigan Avenue. “Progress” was designed by Scottish-American sculptor John Massey Rhind and topped Schmidt’s pyramid form tower.

In her original form, “Progress” was depicted as a nude, bearing a flaming torch in her right hand and a caduceus in her left balancing atop a globe. The metallic erosion at the top of her face reveals the wear of nearly half a century outside amongst the Chicago elements. John Massey Rhind was said to be influenced by Augustus Saint-Gaudens Diana which topped the Agriculture Building at the Chicago World’s Fair.

For more information on the weathervane or the 20th Century Decorative Arts auction, please call Rebecca Williams at 312-280-1212. Preview for the sale will begin October 31 and continue until November 3.

Auction:
20th Century Decorative Arts, Tuesday, November 4 | 11am CST

Preview:
October 31 – November 3
1338 West Lake Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607