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More Smithsonian Searches     Who else has...     Miserendino, Vincenzo,     History -- United States     Portrait male -- Columbus, Christopher     Portrait male -- Gehrman, Jesse     Outdoor Sculpture -- Pennsylvania -- Reading     Sculpture

Christopher Columbus, (sculpture). Artist:  Miserendino, Vincenzo, 1876-1943, sculptor. Title:  Christopher Columbus, (sculpture). Dates:  Commissioned Jan. 25, 1925. Dedicated Oct. 12, 1925. Rededicated 1992. Digital Reference:  Medium:  Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite. Dimensions:  Sculpture: approx. 7 1/2 x 6 x 2 1/2 ft.; Base: approx. H. 7 1/2 x 5 3/4 x 5 3/4 ft.; Sub base; approx. H. 19 1/2 in. x 11 ft. x11 ft. (2,000 lbs.). Inscription:  (On rear of sculpture, near base:) V. MISERENDINO SC. (Incised on front of base:) DEDICATED TO/CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS/BORN GENOVA ITALY 1436/DISCOVERER OF AMERICA/OCTOBER 12, 1492/BY THE ITALIAN RESIDENTS OF/READING, PENNSYLVANIA/OCTOBER 12,/1925 (On front of base, bronze bas-relief plaque:) October 12, 1492 signed Description:  Full-length portrait of Christopher Columbus, seen standing holding charts in his proper left hand at his side, and pointing outward with his proper right hand. The bronze sculpture is mounted on a granite pedestal base with bronze relief plaques and bronze torch at each corner. The bronze relief plaques depict Father Perez blessing Columbus before he undertakes his journey; an allegorical conception of the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria (three winged figures and a sailing ship navigating the world); the landing of Columbus on the island of San Salvador; and the fourth relief shows Columbus standing before a kneeling Indian, with the jubilant crew standing to the right. Subject:  History -- United States -- Colonization Portrait male -- Columbus, Christopher -- Full length Portrait male -- Gehrman, Jesse -- Full length Object Type:  Outdoor Sculpture -- Pennsylvania -- Reading Sculpture Owner:  Administered by City of Reading, Bureau of Parks and Public Property, 815 Washington Street, Reading, Pennsylvania 19601 Located Penn's Common (City Park), Perkiomen Avenue, between Franklin & Penn Street, Reading, Pennsylvania Remarks:  The memorial cost $10,000. Approval for the site in City Park was received May 15, 1925; and on August 20, 1925, approval for the public monument was received by the State Art Commission. IAS files contain copy of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission sponsored survey and condition report, 1988, and copy of dedication booklet. The sculpture was commissioned on Jan. 25, 1925 and was originally designed to have a lower, unadorned pedestal. However, enthusiasm over the proposed design of the memorial led to a rethinking of the pedestal. The clay models for the heroic statue was approved May 1925. A Reading native, Jesse Gehrman, modeled for the statue. The monument was rededicated in 1992, after restoration. References:  Save Outdoor Sculpture, Pennsylvania survey, 1994. Illustration:  Image on file. Note:  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. Repository:  Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012 Control Number:  IAS PA001769   Copy/Holding information Smithsonian AmericanArt Museum Control Number   Inventory of American Sculpture PA001769 Add Copy to MyList Format: HTMLPlain textDelimited Subject:   Email to:

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