If it is the first duty of art to make people think, this is
the most successful bit of sculpture on the grounds.
Mural Paintings
The mural paintings in, the Court of Abundance consist of eight panels
by Frank Brangwyn, perhaps the greatest living mural decorator, placed
in the four corners of the cloister. Though not entirely in key with the
color scheme and not an integral part of the court as a whole, these are
distinctly the works of a master. Ultra-learned critics will tell you
that they fail as decorations, since they are interesting as individual
pictures rather than as panels heightening the architectural charm. But
their placing shows clearly that there was no intention that they should
appear as part of the architectural scheme. It is better to accept them
as pictures, forgetting the set standards by which one ordinarily judges
mural painting.
The eight paintings represent the elements: two panels each for Fire,
Earth, Air and Water. There are no conventional figures here
personifying the elements, but scenes from the life of intensely human
people, typifying the uses to which man has put the elements.
Fire. Beginning on the tower side of the court, at the northeast corner,
are the two panels representing Fire. The one on the north wall is
called "Primitive Fire." A group of figures surround a fire, some
nursing it and some holding out their hands to the heat, while a man at
the back brings fagots.
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