J. MASSEY RHIND. Progress. A Second Look.

Is she? Or, isn't she? The J. Massey Rhind "Progress" relocated from the Michigan Avenue Ward Tower to the Montgomery Ward Warehouse Administration Building, that is. Comments on the previous Post (below) necessitate a second look.
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The first photo (unaltered) is from Horace Spencer Fiske's 1903 Publication "Chicago in Picture & Poetry." "Like Mercury touching a hilltop....." Fiske rhymes.  

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The  photo immediately below (taken from ground level approximately 3 blocks west of the Administration Building) has been rotated to match the angle of pose of the original above -- a modification that could conceivably have taken place in the "move." It has also been resized for comparison.        

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The detail of shoulder and foot (above) are included for further comparison.

And well, uh,  ..... Jyoti is right. Taking into all consideration foreshortening from perspective, the slightly different angle of rotation -- even the blur of the original -- these just aren't the same "Progress." Unless, like, they dropped her, broke her leg, and rebuilt it for West Chicago Avenue.

Highly unlikely.

And so, we have yet another mystery. What happened to the original, original "Progress" credited to Saint Gaudens. And the original credited to Massey. And who is the sculptor of this Progress. And who thought her (even in 1929 -- when they should have been thinking something Deco) worth remaking. This is a problem to ponder --- my kind of problem. Important to be sure. But one that can remain unsolved, indefinitely, without implication or damage.

And one that finds friends in differing opinion.

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