Robert Emmet, (sculpture).

Robert Emmet, (sculpture).

Connor, Jerome, 1876-1943, sculptor.

Robert Emmet, (sculpture).

1916. Dedicated June 28, 1917. Rededicated April 22, 1966. Rededicated April 27, 2016.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: Brazilian granite.

Sculpture: approx. 82 x 38 x 23 in.; Base: approx. 5 x 4 x 4 ft.

(On right side of bronze base of sculpture:) JEROME CONNOR/1916 (Front of stone base:) Robert Emmet/Irish Patriot/1778-1803/"Lidia-saon-eine" (On plaque, back of base:) "I WISHED TO PROCURE FOR MY/COUNTRY THE GUARANTEE WHICH/WASHINGTON PROCURED FOR AMERICA/I HAVE PARTED FROM EVERYTHING/THAT WAS DEAR TO ME IN THIS LIFE/FOR MY COUNTRY'S CAUSE/WHEN MY COUNTRY TAKES HER PLACE AMONG THE NATIONS OF THE/EARTH, THEN, AND NOT TILL THEN/LET MY EPITAPH BE WRITTEN"/Extracts from Emmet's speech/from the dock September 19, 1803 signed

Portrait of the Irish revolutionist Robert Emmet as he appeared in 1803 when he delivered his famous speech in Dublin just before being sentenced to death by hanging. He stands with his proper right leg positioned slightly forward and his proper right hand stretched out. He is dressed in knee britches and a jacket with tails. The sculpture rests on a rectangular stone base installed in the middle of a small park a few blocks away from the Irish Embassy. The coat of arms for the United Irishmen appears on the front of the base.

Portrait male -- Emmet, Robert -- Full length

Occupation -- Other -- Reformer

Ethnic -- Irish

Dress -- Historic -- Nineteenth Century Dress

History -- Ireland

Outdoor Sculpture -- District of Columbia -- Washington

Administered by Smithsonian American Art Museum, 8th & G Streets, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia 20560 Accession Number: 1917.6.4

On loan to United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, District of Columbia

Located Robert Emmet Park, Massachusetts Avenue & 24th Street, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia

Formerly located Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, 14th Street & Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia 20560

Robert Emmet (1778-1803), a member of the United Irishmen's Party, was an Irish revolutionist who was sentenced to death by the British for leading an unsuccessful Irish uprising against the British in Dublin on July 23, 1803. This sculpture was commissioned by American citizens of Irish ancestry in commemoration of the struggle for independence of Ireland. It was presented to the Smithsonian Institution in 1917 and originally stood in the main rotunda of the National Museum of Natural History until it was replaced with the elephant. The sculpture was then placed in storage until 1966. On April 22, 1966, it was dedicated at its present site on Massachusetts Avenue in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Easter Rebellion uprising for Irish independence. On April 27, 2016, the sculpture was rededicated in a ceremony marking the centenary of the 1916 Easter uprising.

IAS files contain a related article from the American Irish Historical Society Journal 16 (1917): pg. 165-175 which describes the dedication ceremony in detail including addresses given by Senator James D. Phelan of California and Judge Victor J. Dowling who presented the sculpture, and Dr. Charles D. Walcott, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, who accepted the sculpture. This article also notes that the likeness for the sculpture was drawn from Emmet's death mask owned by a family member. Two other articles, the New York Morning Telegraph, March 6, 1916, pg. 4 and Washington Post, March 12, 1916, pg. 3, (transcriptions of which are in IAS files), note that an actor, Brandon Tynan, was selected by the artist as the model for Emmet. Brandon Tynan once played Emmet in a theatrical production he wrote about Emmet. The Goode publication notes that the artist drew Emmet's likeness from sketches done at Emmet's trial.

Inscription on plaque found in ground in front of sculpture reads: The Emmet Statue Committee/Hon. Victor J. Dowling, Chairman/Presented this statue to the/Smithsonian Institution as a/Gift to the American people/on June 28, 1917 in the presence/of President Woodrow Wilson / (shamrock design) Erected on this site on/April 22, 1966 in recognition/of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the/Proclamation of Irish Independence.

Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1990, 2006.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 301.

Smithsonian Institution Research Expeditions Volunteer Project, 1991.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, DC0006, 1989.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1993.

Monumental News, March, 1915, pg. 158.

Michael Richman, SAAM curatorial assistant, 1967-1969.

Irish Times, April 28, 2016.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, H-24.

For small version see: 08940002.

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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