The War President, (sculpture).

The War President, (sculpture).

Russell, Walter, 1871-1963, sculptor.

The War President, (sculpture).

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, (sculpture).

Copyrighted 1943. Dedicated Oct. 28, 1945.

Digital Reference:

Bust: bronze; Base: red granite.

Sculpture: approx. 36 1/2 x 23 x 18 1/2 in.; Base: approx. 60 1/2 x 21 x 18 in.

(On lower proper right of bust:) 19 (copyright symbol) 32/Walter Russell (On lower front of bust:) THE/WAR PRESIDENT (On front of base:) FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT/PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES/1932(sic)-1945/PRESENTED BY THE ORDER OF AHEPA 1943 (On back of base, top plaque:) FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT BY WALTER RUSSELL (great seal) PRESENTED TO THE FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT LIBRARY BY THE ORDER OF AHEPA MARCH 10, 1945. (On back of base, lower plaque:) FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT WAS INITIATED IN THE ORDER OF AHEPA ON MARCH 11, 1931 AND MAINTAINED MEMBERSHIP IN THE DELPHI CHAPTER NO. 25 OF NEW YORK CITY TO THE DATE OF HIS DEATH signed

Heroic bronze bust of Franklin D. Roosevelt rests on a tall square base of red granite.

Portrait male -- Roosevelt, Franklin D. -- Bust

Occupation -- Political -- President

Outdoor Sculpture -- New York -- Hyde Park

Administered by National Archives and Records Administration, 7th & Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, District of Columbia

Located Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum, 259 Albany Post Road, Entrance to library courtyard, Hyde Park, New York 12538

The bronze bust was given to President Roosevelt by the Order of AHEPA (American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association). Although the bust was officially given to the President on March 10, 1943, it was made of stone, and due to the wartime shortage of bronze, the bronze cast could not be presented until Oct. 28, 1945. Originally it was placed on the south side of the library on a fieldstone base in a sunken garden. In 1951, it was given a base of red granite and the bust was moved to a field south of the walk. When wings were added to the library in the 1970s, the bust was moved to the end of the walk, and on Sept. 16, 1991, it was moved to the entrance of the library courtyard where it is today. Unfortunately, the inscription on the new red granite base contains an error, the dates of Roosevelt's presidency should read 1933-1945, not 1932-1945.

IAS files contain an excerpt from The AHEPAN (March-April 1943): pg. 6-9; and an information sheet from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985

Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum, 1989.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, New York survey, 1994.

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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