Deborah Cook Sayles Public Library

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Deborah Cook Sayles Public Library

Pawtucket, Rhode Island · 1898–1902

Among Lee Lawrie’s earliest sculptural murals, this programme was made for the Deborah Cook Sayles Public Library in Pawtucket. The building was designed by Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson of Boston and dedicated in 1902 in memory of Deborah Cook Sayles.

Six panels decorate the front of the building, presenting scenes from Roman, Grecian, Egyptian, Latin, Anglo-Saxon and Teutonic civilizations. They form an early example of Lawrie’s ability to make sculpture an integral part of public architecture.

Building photograph: kzirkel, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.