St. George and the Dragon, (sculpture).

St. George and the Dragon, (sculpture).

Unknown, sculptor.

Elkington & Company, founder.

St. George and the Dragon, (sculpture).

Saint George and the Dragon, (sculpture).

ca. 1876. Cast 1877. Relocated 1901. Relocated 1935. Reinstalled 1975. Rededicated April 23, 1978.

Sculpture: bronze; Base: fieldstone or granite and aggregate concrete.

Sculpture: approx. 96 x 48 x 150 in.; Base: approx. 72 x 138 x 78 in.

(Base, left side:) ST. GEORGE/ AND/ THE DRAGON/ DESIGNED AND CAST/ 1877/ ELKINGTON & COMPANY/ BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND/ FOR/ THE SOCIETY OF THE/ SONS OF ST. GEORGE/ OF PHILADELPHIA/ FOUNDED 1772/ ST. GEORGE'S DAY, 23 APRIL 1978 unsigned

The naked figure of St. George, the patron saint of England, is seated bare-back on a horse that is rearing back from a menacing dragon. The dragon, speared in the chest, stretches up toward the proper right side of St. George. Its mouth is open revealing its sharp fangs and its proper right claws dig into the stomach of the horse. St. George leans back slightly and holds the reins of his rearing horse in his proper left hand. His proper right arm is raised back behind him. On his head he wears a helmet. The sculpture rests on a rectangular base made of bricks of either granite or fieldstone.

Religion -- Saint -- St. George

Fantasy -- Dragon

Outdoor Sculpture -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia

Administered by City of Philadelphia, Fairmount Park Commission, Memorial Hall, West Park, P. O. Box 21601, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19131

Located Fairmount Park, West side of park, West River Drive & Black Drive, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Formerly located Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Storage, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19130 1935-1977.

Formerly located 13th & Arch streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1877-1901

St. George, legend has it, rescued a princess by killing a dragon. In religion, St. George represents the hero's triumph over the forces of evil. The sculpture was originally installed at 13th & Arch streets on the roof of the headquarters for the Society of the Sons of St. George. (An organization that assisted English people when they had trouble in America.) The piece remained there until the Society moved in 1901 and the building was demolished. The sculpture's location from 1901 to 1935 is unknown. In 1935, the piece was placed in the basement storage at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and remained there until 1975 when it was installed at its present site. The SOS! survey lists the base medium as fieldstone and aggregate concrete, and the Public Monument Conservation Project lists the base medium as granite and concrete.

Treated 2006 August. Kreilick Conservation, LLC (Oreland, PA). Treatment report on file with owner and conservator.

Public Monument Conservation Project, 1986.

Bach, Penny Balkin, "Public Art in Philadelphia," Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992, pg. 201.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia survey, 1993.

SOS Conservation Notification Report, 2008.

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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