Ruins III

Ruins III, 1978

Nita Sunderland

East Riverwalk, between Columbus and Lake Shore Drive

Nita Sunderland (born 1927), professor emeritus at Bradley University, has said that when she was in high school, girls needed special permission to take shop classes. She took them and, in a 2012 interview with a Peoria newspaper, said, "As a matter of fact, I sometimes stayed after class to help the guys." In her Ruins series, Sunderland crafts works in metal, wood and stone. Ruins III was inspired by the artist's travels in Italy and England. This piece reflects her continued interest in parallels between medieval and contemporary society. The placement of the figures shows a physical separation of the bronze representation of knights, a leper and medieval woman. A commission of the Art-in-Architecture Program, created in 1977 to promote and preserve the arts of Illinois by securing artwork of all media for public buildings constructed with State funds, this bronze and limestone piece was originally located on the northeast corner of Jackson Boulevard and Clark Street, directly across from the Metcalfe Federal Building.