Nevada

• Virtue Represented: Caritas (Charity), inspired by Mary, the mother of Jesus.
• Primary Influences:
  • Based on a depiction of Mary in St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in Austin, Nevada.
  • Features architectural elements from St. Mary in the Mountains Catholic Church & Museum in Virginia City, Nevada.
• Major Symbols of Charity:
  • Flowers: Sierra Nevada Lily and Mary Magdalene Rose in containers flanking the design.
  • Cherubs and Burning Hearts: Represent charity and divine love.
  • Lit Candle: Symbolizing guidance and enlightenment.
  • Rising Sun: Nevada’s sun rising over the mountains through the window behind Charity.
• Additional Elements:
  • A hidden “Love” inscription and symbols of a square, compass, wagon wheel, and rosary beads.
  • Ash Tree: Symbolizing marriage and Nevada’s status as the marriage capital of the world.
  • Ring-Necked Pheasants: Representing selfless acts of nurture and protection of family.
  • Architectural elements like the window, candlestick, and columns inspired by historic Nevada Catholic churches.

• Virtue Depicted: Sophia (Wisdom), making her debut as Athena, symbolizing divine inspiration and progress.
• Theme: Wisdom surrounded by Nevada-specific symbols, inventions, and technologies.
• Key Elements:
  • Libraries and university buildings from the University of Nevada and the University of Las Vegas.
  • Quartz mill from the Nevada State Seal.
  • Antique Hoover Dam hard helmet, books, scrolls, pen, ink, and a wagon wheel.
  • Books by Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and a silver mine car.
  • Nevada State’s No. 40 Locomotive.
  • Open scroll with text from the 15th Amendment, highlighting Nevada’s early adoption of voting rights regardless of skin color.
• Appearance:
  • Clothed in battle gear: raised helm, arm guards, breastplate.
  • Armed with shield, spear, and pickaxe (representing Nevada’s mining history).
  • Owl symbol of Wisdom worn as a gorget around her neck.
• Supporting Elements:
  • Stands atop an open book supported by a pillar bearing the Nevada State Seal motto: “All for Our Country.”
  • Includes the Mountain Bluebird (Nevada's state bird) and the White Pine (symbolizing White Pine County).

Virtue and Representation

• Justitia (Justice) is featured without a blindfold, wearing a veil pulled back to show her face.
• Modeled after the statue of Justice at the Storey County Courthouse in Virginia City, Nevada, symbolizing justice as all-seeing.

Key Elements and Symbols

• Pillar Design: Inspired by the pillars of the Storey County Courthouse, engraved with "Battleborn," referencing Nevada's Civil War origins.
• Weapons: A six-shooter and 30-30 rifle, symbolizing Nevada's Wild West history.
• Wine Barrel: Stamped with “Cup Bearer Wine, Cana Dry Red,” symbolically linked to the larger artwork.

Landscape Features

• Pyramid Lake: Depicted in the background, showcasing its unique geographical placement in Washoe County.
• Wild Horses: Running in the distance, representing freedom and Nevada's rural heritage.
• Native Flora and Fauna:
  • Mesquite trees.
  • Badger as a symbol.
  • Sandhill Cranes in the background.

Themes

• The portrayal emphasizes justice with awareness and fairness.
• Reflects Nevada's historical and natural uniqueness.

Fortitudine, or Fortitude, is the third and final new virtue that debuts in the Nevada Goldback Series. She is patterned after Nike, the Greek winged goddess of Victory. A driving theme for this piece is “Fortitude brings Victory over Vice,” as can be seen illustrated with the bobcat pouncing on a “land crocodile,” the tortoise. Fortitudine is patterned after the trumpeting angels found along the walls of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas and is understood to be sounding the first trumpet of Triumph.

• On her head is the laurel wreath, a symbol of glory.
• In her left hand, a palm leaf symbolizes triumph.
• A notable feature of this design is the symbol of pillars rising up out of the desert in a rare “super bloom,” symbolizing Fortitude’s role and success in holding Nevada and her people together in the past, present, and future.
• Other present symbols include barrel cactus, sagebrush in bloom (as on Nevada's State Flag), joshua tree in bloom, and hidden symbols.
• The backdrop features Red Rock Canyon near Las Vegas.

Libertas, or Liberty, the capstone Virtue design of each U.S. based Goldback series, makes her second appearance here under a starry Nevada night sky. Here, in the peaks of the Sierra Nevadas, she is depicted as biblical Eve, mother of the human race, patterned somewhat after a statue of Aphrodite from Ceasar’s Palace, Las Vegas. She is championed here by the artist as a symbol of the biblical story about a free woman who exercised her agency and power of choice to bring about the human race. In her left hand she holds high a pomegranate fruit, symbolizing all of humankind, and in her right hand she is holding a vertical rod, a symbol of royalty that also nods to the vertical mining technique that helped Nevada to become an outstanding precious metals producer.

• Symbolism:
  • Represents biblical Eve, the mother of the human race, symbolizing freedom and agency.
  • Modeled after a statue of Aphrodite at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas.
• Attributes:
  • Left hand: Holds a pomegranate fruit, symbolizing all of humankind.
  • Right hand: Holds a vertical rod, symbolizing royalty and referencing Nevada’s mining history.
• Positioning:
  • Stands on a stone pedestal with a seashell, often associated with Aphrodite.
  • A basket of pomegranates at her feet.
  • A biblical rock altar with a fire burning, symbolizing gratitude to the Divine for freedom.
• Additional Symbols:
  • A small pillar balancing a world globe, symbolizing Liberty's global influence.
  • Nevada’s Desert Bighorn Sheep symbolize steadfastness and freedom in high places.
  • Bristlecone Pine tree symbolizes the eternal nature of Liberty.