"Education" - This painting has three allegorical figures on the portico of the Temple of Knowledge: Knowledge in the center, teaching the world the truth essential to civilization; Fortune at the left, the result of being well educated; Time at the right, the character that is always required in obtaining education and the one who removes from the temple of knowledge the incompetent and heedless. The Mother in the foreground, as the first teacher of the Child, is giving him instruction. The child is the sole object of the efforts of Education. What Education involves is indicated by the Greek Civilization represented by Homer seated with his musical instruments by Fortune; the Roman and the Romance Civilizations represented by Virgil and Dante standing near Time. Law, as an important part of education, is represented by Justinian and Napoleon in the background, and Shakespeare in front of them represents Literature. In the background, and sitting in conference, are representatives of Science, Columbus and the Greek philosophers, deciding the actual present day contribution of science that should be studied by scholars." Quote comes from 1927 Bulletin of ISTC, The Library (1972.54.2).
Education was the first installed in the new library (Seerley Hall) which opened on May 2, 1911 and was commissioned by the Board just after the end of World War 1. In total, Dodge was commissioned to paint five murals for the Iowa State Teachers College, the first two being 40 feet in length and covering the walls on the end of the room.
Dodge was paid $5,000 for the first two murals and took six month to complete these in his New York studio. The University paid an additional 2,000 for shipping to the ISTC campus and they were installed by September of 1920.
