Union 060719 (work of art)

Aside from his childhood, Haley’s time as an architectural blacksmith’s apprentice in New Mexico likely further cemented his artistic leanings toward industrial materials and fabrication methods. 

Union 060719 is part of Haley’s Correction Line series. The sculpture was created in 2019, and it was given to the Museum in 2020 by Renee and Ralph Snyderman in honor of the Museum’s now-retired Director of Planning Daniel Gottlieb. 

The title is a reference to the Land Ordinance of 1785, a law passed by the United States Congress under the Articles of Confederation. The ordinance sought to provide regulation and clarity regarding how land west of the Appalachian Mountains was to be lawfully surveyed and sold. The ordinance also allowed the federal government to assert claim over large tracts of land, claims many of which are contested to this day.

The Land Ordinance of 1785 called for public land to be divided into six-mile square parcels that could be bought, sold, or traded. To divide the land into these parcels, the Public Land Survey got underway the same year the ordinance was passed.

To measure the parcels accurately, federal surveyors used the east and west latitude points known as “correction lines” to reorient their measurements every 24 miles and account for the natural curvature of the earth.

Union 060719 consists of two rectangular prisms that have been vertically stacked on top of each other. The ends of each prism that meet have been tapered into rounded shapes, making it an ideal representation of the “correction lines” that inspired it.

• Read an article about Haley’s Correction Line series.
• Read a short article about the artist’s career.
• Read a review of an exhibition of the artist’s work.

Resources for Students

• View additional sculptures by Haley.
• Watch a video of the artist in his studio.
• Watch a documentary about the artist.