Matthias William Baldwin (1795-1866), (sculpture).

Matthias William Baldwin (1795-1866), (sculpture).

Adams, Herbert, 1858-1945, sculptor.

Matthias William Baldwin (1795-1866), (sculpture).

Mathias William Baldwin, (sculpture).

1905. Relocated 1921. Relocated 1936.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: pink granite.

Sculpture: approx. 96 x 30 x 30 in.; Base: approx. 9 ft. x 58 in. x 58 in.; Lower step: approx. W. 95 in. D. 95 in.

(Base, front, in bronze letters:) BALDWIN (Inscribed, rear of pedestal:) MATTHIAS WILLIAM BALDWIN/FOVNDER OF THE BALDWIN LOCOMOTIVE WORKS/MDCCXCV/-MDCCCLXVI/HIS SKILL IN THE MECHANICAL/ARTS HIS FAITHFVL DISCHARGE/OF THE DVTIES OF CITIZENSHIP/HIS BROAD PHILANTHROPY AND VNFAILING BENEVOLENCES; AND HIS DEVOTION TO ALL CHRISTIAN WORK/PLACED HIM FOREMOST/AMONG THE MAKERS OF PHILADELPHIA

Standing portrait of Baldwin dressed in a long, double-breasted coat, a vest, and a shirt with a tie at the neck. His head is bald with a little hair on the sides of his head. In his proper left hand he holds a scroll down at his side. In his raised proper right hand he holds a compass up to his waist. The sculpture is installed on a square base.

Portrait male -- Baldwin, Mathias William -- Full length

Occupation -- Monetary -- Philanthropist

Occupation -- Other -- Businessman

Occupation -- Science -- Inventor

Object -- Written Matter -- Letter

Outdoor Sculpture -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia

Administered by City of Philadelphia, Department of Public Property, Municipal Services Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107

Located City Hall, North Plaza, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Formerly located Broad & Spring Garden Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1905-1921.

Matthias William Baldwin (1795-1866) was a businessman, inventor and philanthropist. In April of 1831, at the Peale Museum, he exhibited a model locomotive with two cars, and by 1832 he had established the Baldwin Locomotive Works. He went on to sell more than 1,500 of his steam locomotives. This sculpture was a gift of Burnham, Williams & Company of the Baldwin Locomotive Works to the City of Philadelphia through the Fairmount Park Art Association. The piece was first installed at Broad and Spring Garden Streets, overlooking Baldwin's locomotive factory, but was moved to its current site in 1921. "Public Art in Philadelphia" notes that the piece was relocated in 1936.

IAS files contain related newspaper clippings from New York Times, Nov. 17, 1902, pg. 6; Boston Daily Globe, Oct. 12, 1902, pg. 35.

Ambler, Louise Todd & Marilyn Gage Hyson, unpublished checklist, 2001-2003.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

City of Philadelphia, 1973.

Fairmount Park Art Assoc., "Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze & Stone," NY: Walker Publ., 1974, pg. 227.

Bach, Penny Balkin, "Public Art in Philadelphia," Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992, pg. 211.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia survey, 1993.

Fairmount Park Art Assoc., "Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze & Stone," NY: Walker Publ., 1974, pg. 227.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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