Samuel Spencer, (sculpture).

Samuel Spencer, (sculpture).

French, Daniel Chester, 1850-1931, sculptor.

Bacon, Henry, 1866-1924, architect.

Jno. Williams, Inc., founder.

Piccirilli Brothers Marble Carving Studios, fabricator.

Samuel Spencer, (sculpture).

Commissioned 1907. Cast 1909. Dedicated May 21, 1910. Relocated 1970. Rededicated July 3, 1970. Relocated ca. 1996. Relocated May 2009.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: Knoxville marble.

Sculpture: approx. 7 1/2 ft. x 54 in. x 5 ft.; Base: approx. 3 x 4 x 5 ft.

(Stamped on lower edge of sculpture, right side:) Daniel C. French (On lower left edge of sculpture:) JNO Williams Inc./Bronze Foundry NY 1909 (On front of base:) SAMUEL SPENCER/1847-1909 (On back of base: ) A GEORGIAN/A CONFEDERATE SOLIDER/AND/THE FIRST PRESIDENT/OF THE/SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY/ERECTED BY THE EMPLOYEES/OF THAT COMPANY (Plaque on brick base:) SAMUEL SPENCER/1847-1906/A GEORGIAN/A CONFEDERATE SOLDIER/FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY/ERECTED BY THE EMPLOYEES OF THAT COMPANY/REDEDICATED JULY 3, 1970 signed Founder's mark appears.

Portrait of Samuel Spencer, founding president of Southern Railway Company, now Norfolk Southern. He is seated in a neo-classical chair, gazing out over the City of Atlanta, and flanked by two bronze light poles carried on the backs of turtles. He has a mustache and small goatee, and wears a suit, tie, and vest. A coat is draped on the arm of the chair on his proper right side.

Portrait male -- Spencer, Samuel -- Full length

Occupation -- Industry -- Railroad

Outdoor Sculpture -- Georgia -- Atlanta

Administered by City of Atlanta, Department of Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Affairs, Bureau of Cultural Affairs, 675 Ponce de Leon Avenue, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30308

Located Norfolk Southern, 1200 Peachtree Street NE, Plaza at front entrance, Atlanta, Georgia 30309

Formerly administered by Norfolk Southern, Atlanta, Georgia 1910-1996.

Formerly located Terminal Station, Plaza, Atlanta, Georgia 1910-1970.

Formerly located Brookwood Station, 1688 Peachtree Street, NE, Atlanta, Georgia until ca. 1996.

Formerly located Hardy Ivy Park, Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Georgia ca. 1996-2009.

The sculpture is a tribute to Samuel Spencer, founder of the Southern Railway Company, now known as Norfolk Southern. Spencer died in a train accident on his own railroad line on Thanksgiving Day 1906. The sculpture was funded by 30,000 employees of the Southern Railroad Company. It was originally installed on a pedestal of Knoxville marble, designed by Henry Bacon and fabricated by Piccirilli Brothers, and placed on the plaza of the Atlanta Terminal Station (now demolished). In 1970, the sculpture was relocated to the Brookwood Station (minus the original base, which was stored in the rail yards), and installed on a temporary base made of brick and concrete. In preparation for Atlanta's 1996 Olympics, the sculpture was relocated to Hardy Ivy Park, and was installed on its original stone base. Ownership of the sculpture was transferred to the City of Atlanta at the end of the 1996 Olympics. In May 2009, the sculpture was relocated to headquarters building of Norfolk Southern at 1200 Peachtree Street NE. When the sculpture was relocated, the globe light fixtures were replaced with round white globes that resemble the original globes used in 1910. IAS image files show the sculpture in its location at the Brookwood Station.

IAS files contain related newsclipping from Savannah Morning News, May 8, 1910, pg. 4; and The Augusta (GA.) Chronicle, May 8, 1910. IAS files also contain related excerpt from "Official Guide to Atlanta," compiled by Atlanta Tourist & Convention Bureau, c. 1926, pg. 52. SOS! survey form lists execution and cast date as 1909; but Aug. 18, 1993 correspondence from Hardy & Halpern, Inc., on file in IAS, gives execution year of 1907. IAS files contain a copy of a 1914 postcard showing the sculpture in its original location at Terminal Station in Atlanta.

Treated 2002 September-October. Nicolas Veloz (Alexandria, VA). Treatment report on file with owner and conservator.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Georgia, Atlanta survey, 1994.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, GA5003, 1989.

Monumental News, June 1908, pg. 440.

Inventory staff, 2000.

SOS Conservation Treatment Award, 2001.

Veloz, Nick, 2010.

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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