Colonel Robert L. McCook Monument, (sculpture).

Colonel Robert L. McCook Monument, (sculpture).

Fettweis, Leopold, sculptor.

Colonel Robert L. McCook Monument, (sculpture).

McCook Monument, (sculpture).

Installed 1878. Dedicated Aug. 23, 1878.

Digital Reference:

Bust: white marble or limestone; Pedestal: gray granite.

Bust: approx. 4 ft. x 2 ft. 6 in. x 2 ft.; Pedestal: approx. 16 ft. x 8 ft. x 8 ft.

(On panel on front of lower pedestal, in incised lettering:) ERECTED/AUG. 23, 1878/9th REGT./O.V.I./IN HONOR OF/(Lower:) COL. R. L. McCOOK unsigned

A bust of Robert L. McCook with a full beard and mustache, wearing a shirt unbuttoned at the collar under a lightweight jacket that is open across the chest. The bust sits atop a pedestal with a decorated, tapered upper section and a rectangular lower section that has a stepped base. On each side of the lower pedestal is a raised polished panel, the one on the front being incised. There used to be a plaque on the north side of the pedestal.

History -- United States -- Civil War

Portrait male -- McCook, Robert L. -- Bust

Occupation -- Military -- Colonel

Ethnic -- German

Occupation -- Law -- Lawyer

Outdoor Sculpture -- Ohio -- Cincinnati

Administered by City of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Park Board, 950 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Located Washington Park, Opposite 1225 Elm Street, west side of park, Cincinnati, Ohio

Commemorates Robert M. McCook, born in 1827 of Irish descent, who spoke German and was the law partner of Judge Johann B. Stallo, noted German jurist and leader of Cincinnati's German community. McCook commanded the German 9th regiment, known as "Die Neuer," during the Civil War and died in action in August of 1862. Members of his regiment erected the monument in his honor in 1878. The sculpture was moved from another location in Washington Park to its current location. Previously, the monument was surrounded by a low, cast-iron fence with a stone curb and columns topped by spheres. Cannon balls were placed at regular intervals along the stone curb. IAS files contain excerpts from: John Clubbe's "Cincinnati Observed," Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1992, pg. 256; and, Robert J. Wimberg's "Cincinnati: Over-the-Rhine," Cincinnati: The Ohio Book Store, 1987, pg. 40, 44. IAS files also contain a photocopy of archival photos.

"Art in the Park" brochure lists execution date as 1895 and gives medium as limestone on granite base.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Ohio, Cincinnati survey, 1993.

Cincinnati Park Board, "Art in the Park," Cincinnati, OH, n.d.

Wimberg, Robert J., "Cincinnati: Over-the-Rhine," Cincinnati: The Ohio Book Store, 1987, pg. 40.

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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