Forward Statue

Wisconsin adopted Forward as its motto in the 1850s, a plain and optimistic word meant to capture a frontier state's drive and ambition. When the World's Columbian Exposition opened in Chicago in 1893, Wisconsin wanted an image to represent that spirit, and the result was a female figure, robed and striding, embodying progress and aspiration.

The pose is all motion. The figure leans into a step, one arm raised, garments swept back as if by a wind of momentum. She is not a specific person but an idea made visible, the notion that a young state and its people are always pressing ahead. Over the decades she became so identified with Wisconsin that Forward is now as much her name as the motto she illustrates.

The artist behind Forward was Jean Pond Miner, a Wisconsin-raised sculptor still in her twenties when she took on the commission. For a young woman in the 1890s to be entrusted with representing an entire state at a world's fair was remarkable, and she rose to it, producing a work of confidence and grace that would outlive its original occasion.

Miner's achievement is a reminder that some of the era's public art was shaped by women whose names history nearly lost. Forward stands not only for the state's ambitions but for hers, a young artist who made something lasting at the start of her career and left Wisconsin an enduring emblem.

After the Chicago fair, the statue came home to Wisconsin and eventually took its place on the Capitol grounds in Madison, where it has watched over the Square for generations. Decades of Wisconsin weather, however, took a toll on the original bronze, and to protect it the fragile figure was moved indoors and a faithful replica set in its place outdoors.

That is the version most visitors meet today, standing at the King Street corner of the Capitol lawn, dome rising white behind her. The original survives, cared for out of the elements, so that the image endures in both its historic form and its public one, a small lesson in how communities preserve the art they cherish.

The statue sits on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Capitol, whose enormous white dome dominates the Madison skyline and rises at the center of the narrow isthmus dividing Lakes Mendota and Monona. The land here is the ancestral home of the Ho-Chunk Nation, whose effigy mounds still shape the surrounding landscape and whose presence long predates the city.

The Capitol Square that rings the building is the civic heart of Madison, home to a famous farmers market that circles the Capitol in warm months and to a dense cluster of museums, restaurants, and shops. Forward makes an easy anchor for a walk around downtown, a small landmark with a large idea behind it.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

The Forward statue, on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Capitol in downtown Madison, is a beloved bronze statue that has become a symbol of the state and its motto, Forward. The allegorical female figure, striding forward with an outstretched arm, was created in the late nineteenth century by a pioneering Wisconsin sculptor and represents devotion, progress, and the forward-looking spirit of the state. A cherished landmark on the Capitol Square, the statue is a popular meeting spot and photo subject and embodies Wisconsin's official motto. With its symbolism and history, the Forward statue offers a meaningful landmark in Wisconsin.

The Forward statue represents Wisconsin's official state motto, Forward, embodying the progressive, forward-looking spirit of the state through an allegorical female figure striding ahead with arm outstretched, symbolizing devotion and progress. Created in the late nineteenth century by a trailblazing Wisconsin sculptor who was one of the first prominent women in American sculpture, the figure has become an enduring emblem of the state. The statue on the Capitol grounds is the one visitors see, with the original preserved indoors. Its symbolism makes the Forward statue a meaningful landmark in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Forward statue was created by Jean Pond Miner, a pioneering Wisconsin sculptor of the late nineteenth century who was among the first prominent women sculptors in America. She created the striding, allegorical figure to represent the state's motto, Forward, and its forward-looking spirit, and the work became one of her best-known creations and an enduring symbol of Wisconsin. The statue on the Capitol grounds is a faithful bronze version, with the original preserved indoors for protection. Learning about the sculptor adds meaning to a visit to the Forward statue in Madison, Wisconsin.

As an outdoor landmark on the Capitol grounds, the Forward statue can be seen year-round at any time, with the warmer months of spring through fall the most pleasant for strolling the Capitol Square, especially during the lively summer farmers market and festivals. It pairs naturally with a visit to the Wisconsin State Capitol. Any clear day offers a good photo. For the most pleasant weather and the added bustle of the Capitol Square, visit spring through fall at the Forward statue in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Forward statue is on the Wisconsin State Capitol grounds in downtown Madison, steps from the capitol itself, the Capitol Square, the State Street pedestrian mall, the Memorial Union Terrace, and Madison's museums and lakes. That makes the Forward statue a meaningful stop to combine with the Wisconsin State Capitol, State Street, and the other attractions of Madison on a visit to Wisconsin.