Login
My List - 0
Help
Search
Search Images
About
Keyword
Browse
Combined
Highlights
Search History
All Catalogs
Search:
Artist Browse
Title Browse
Subject Browse
Object Type Browse
Owner Browse
Refine Search
Return to results
> You are only searching:
Art Inventories
More Smithsonian Searches
Who else has...
Dunbar, Ulric Stonewall Jackson,
Bureau Brothers,
Smith Granite Company,
Van Amringe Granite Company,
Kyle Granite Company,
Portrait male -- Shepherd, Alexander R.
Occupation -- Political
Object -- Written Matter
Outdoor Sculpture -- District of Columbia -- Washington
Sculpture
Alexander Robey Shepherd, (sculpture).
Artist:
Dunbar, Ulric Stonewall Jackson, 1862-1927, sculptor.
Bureau Brothers, founder.
Smith
Granite
Company
, fabricator.
Van Amringe
Granite
Company
,
contractor
.
Kyle
Granite
Company
,
contractor
Title:
Alexander Robey Shepherd, (sculpture).
Other Titles:
Boss Shepherd, (sculpture).
Dates:
1905. Dedicated May 3, 1909. Reinstalled 2005.
Digital Reference:
Medium:
Sculpture: bronze: Base: light Westerly
granite
.
Dimensions:
Sculpture: approx. H. 8 ft.; Base: approx. H. 7 ft. 6 in. W. 9 ft. 3 in.
Inscription:
(Base, right edge, just below proper right foot:) U. S. J. DUNBAR, Sc. WASH. D.C. / Bureau Bro's. Phila. Pa. (Front of base:) SHEPHERD signed Founder's mark appears.
Description:
Standing portrait of Shepherd dressed in a suit consisting of a long coat, high-collared shirt, and wide tie. In his proper right hand he holds a scrolled map of the city of Washington down at his side. His proper left arm is bent and rests at the small of his back. His hair is close cropped and he stares straight ahead. The sculpture rests on a two-tiered stone base.
Subject:
Portrait male -- Shepherd, Alexander R. -- Full length
Occupation -- Political
Object -- Written Matter -- Map
Object Type:
Outdoor Sculpture -- District of Columbia -- Washington
Sculpture
Owner:
Administered by District of Columbia, Department of Public Works, Design Engineering and Construction Administration, 2000 14th Street, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia 20009
Located John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia 20004
Provenance:
Formerly located 4901 Shepherd Parkway, S. W., Washington, District of Columbia
Formerly located 4701 Shepherd Parkway, S.W., Washington, District of Columbia
Formerly located Municipal Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W., Entrance, Washington, District of Columbia 1909-1931.
Formerly located 14th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue. N.W., Washington, District of Columbia 1931-1979.
Formerly located Blue Plains Sewage Treatment Plant, 5000 Overlook Avenue, S. W., Washington, District of Columbia 1979.
Remarks:
Alexander Robey Shepherd (1835-1902), later known as Boss Shepherd, was born and educated in Washington, D.C. where he became one of the city's biggest land developers. Shepherd first headed the Citizens Reform Association which demanded a governor for the city. President Grant and Congress agreed, but opposition to Shepherd prevented him from being named governor and Grant instead appointed him to a seat on the Board of Public Works in 1871. At Public Works, Shepherd made many improvements to the city, some of them controversial, and many with the help of his business associates. In 1872, citizens asked Congress to investigate the Board of Public Works, but Shepherd was not charged with any wrong doing. In 1873 Grant appointed him governor, but by this time it was discovered that the Board of Public Works had over spent, and he himself was in financial straights, and he soon fell out of favor with the citizens. In 1880 he moved to Mexico where he was to regained his fortune.
Smith
Granite
Company
built the base. The sculpture was originally installed at the entrance to the District of Columbia Building. It remained there until 1931 when, due to construction of the Federal Triangle, it was moved to the plaza across the street from the District Building at 14th and Pennsylvania Avenue. In 1979, the sculpture again had to be moved due to construction. It was boxed up and placed in storage for three years, possibly at the Blue Plains Sewage Treatment Plant, and in 2005 was installed outside the District Building, renamed the John A. Wilson Building in 1994. IAS files contain related articles from The Washington Post, Aug. 4, 1904, pg. 12; Jan. 5, 1908, Aug. 13, 1990 and Jan. 22, 2005, pg. A-16 (Letters to the Editor); and the Washington Post Magazine, April 28, 1991, pg. 27-45.
References:
Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985
National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, DC5031, 1989.
Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 367-368.
Monumental News, Jan. and Sept. 1905; March and Sept. 1908; Jan. 1910.
Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1993.
Michael Richman, SAAM curatorial assistant, 1967-1969.
Harmon, Craig, 2013.
Illustration:
Image on file.
Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, J-8.
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 76009581
Copy/Holding information
Smithsonian AmericanArt Museum
Control Number
Inventory of American Sculpture
76009581
Add Copy to MyList
Format:
HTML
Plain text
Delimited
Subject:
Email to:
Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382
About
| © 2020 Smithsonian |
Terms of Use
|
Privacy
|
Contact