These four figural groups are also known individually as Indians, Reaper, Blacksmith, and Pioneer Family.  They are freestanding figures made of bronze and limestone, located above the South door to the Indiana Statehouse, which was the original “front” door into the building.  The group is a symbolic history of the settlement and “civilizing” of Indiana, and should be read from east (right) to west (left).

The Indians symbolize where the state of Indiana derives its name.  The positioning of the figures at the far left (west) suggest that they were the original inhabitants of the land.  From the east (right) comes the new settlers:  a farmer or reaper holding a metal sickle, and a blacksmith with his apron and tools in hand depicting his trade. These two figures represent the skills needed to tame the new land and prepare it for settling.  The Pioneer Family (man, woman, and young boy) at the far right (east) are symbolically the last to arrive, and represent the westward expansion of America from the east. Together they talk about the history of “ordinary people” in Indiana, rather than the statesmen and public figures seen elsewhere around the Statehouse.

Above the figure groups, located on the roofline, is a gilded stone eagle, the symbol of the United States.

The artist, Herman Carl Mueller (1854-1941), was born in Rodach, Germany.  He attended the Nuremburg School of Industrial Arts and then the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.  He moved to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1878, where he was living and working as an independent sculptor when he was commissioned to create The Westward Journey.  Mueller later founded Mueller Mosaic Company in Trenton, New Jersey with Karl Lagenbeck, where he created high-end decorative tilework for public and private buildings.

Recent revisionist readings of this sculpture grouping have focused on the displacement of Indiana’s native peoples by farmers and industrialists, and note that when this sculpture was created, the native people of the state and their lifestyle were long gone, raising the status of the artwork to heroic mythology rather than real history.

More information about this artwork can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Westward_Journey 

More about Herman Carl Mueller can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Carl_Mueller