Admiral George W. Melville, (sculpture).

Admiral George W. Melville, (sculpture).

Murray, Samuel, 1870-1941, sculptor.

Admiral George W. Melville, (sculpture).

Installed 1923.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. 96 x 30 x 30 in.; Base: approx. 120 x 96 x 96 in.

Roman Bronze Works . NY (Sculpture, lower proper left:) Samuel Murray Sc. (Base, front:) MELVILLE (Base, front bronze plaque:) Rear Admiral George W. Melville USN/1841-1912/Engineer in Chief U.S. Navy 1887-1905/His vision and ability led to the adoption/of water tube oil burning boilers and forced/draft by the U.S. Navy. He was the founder of/the naval boiler and turbine laboratory.-/These achievements are proudly recorded/by the society of Naval Architects and/Marine Engineers which he served as/vice president during 1894-1912. signed Founder's mark appears.

Standing portrait of Admiral Melville dressed in his uniform holding his cap at his side with his proper right hand. His double-breasted coat is buttoned and belted, but the bottom edge is blown open by the wind. His proper left arm is bent and rests at his waist on his belt. A sword once hung on his proper left side just below his arm, but the sword is now missing. He is depicted with a full beard and moustache and he stares straight ahead.

Portrait male -- Melville, George W. -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- Admiral

Occupation -- Industry -- Engineering

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Dress -- Accessory -- Hat

Outdoor Sculpture -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia

Administered by City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Located Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Broad Street & Preble Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Formerly located Franklin D. Roosevelt Park, South Broad Street, 1923-1967.

This piece was commissioned by the City of Philadelphia through a bequest of Admiral Melville. Inscription on a bronze plaque mounted on a stone marker in front of the sculpture reads: FATHER OF NAVSSES (Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station)/Rear Admiral George W. Melville, USN, founded the/original fuel oil treating plant near this site in/1910. This plant was the forerunner of NAVSSES./Melville served as chief of the Bureau of Steam/Engineering and achieved lasting fame as an Arctic/Explorer. His foresight and engineering expertise/are reflected in NAVSSES today and in his honor/and memory we proudly dedicate this plaza/May - 1978.

Fairmount Park Art Assoc., "Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze & Stone," NY: Walker Publ., 1974, pg. 304.

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. 304.

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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