David B. Varney Memorial, (sculpture).

David B. Varney Memorial, (sculpture).

Bourcier, Francoise Trudel, sculptor.

David B. Varney Memorial, (sculpture).

1955. Dedicated Aug. 28, 1955.

Digital Reference:

Relief plaque: bronze; Memorial: granite; Walkway: flagstone or colored slate.

Overall: approx. H. 8 ft. 9 in. x W. 16 ft. 7 in.; Relief plaque: approx. H. 23 1/2 in. x W. 19 1/2 in.

(Lower right corner of relief plaque, incised lettering:) FRANCOISE TRUDEL BOURCIER/SCULPTOR/1955 (Below relief plaque, on center of memorial, incised lettering:) DEDICATED 1955/IN GRATEFUL/MEMORY OF/DAVID B./VARNEY/MAYOR OF/MANCHESTER/1889.1890/(City of Manchester seal)/VARNEY MEMORIAL COMM./(list of six names follow) (Left side of memorial, above bench, incised lettering:) LET US NOT FORGET THAT WE ARE THE SERVANTS OF THE PEOPLE (Right side of memorial, above bench, incised lettering:) LET US SEE TO IT THAT THEIR CONFIDENCE WAS NOT MISPLACED/INAUGURAL ADDRESS JAN.1, 1889 signed

This memorial to former Manchester, New Hampshire Mayor David B. Varney consists of a tall rectangular slab of polished granite featuring a bronze relief portrait of Varney at the top and the City of Manchester seal engraved at the bottom. Two polished granite benches flank the bottom of the cental slab and a flagstone walkway leads to the front of the memorial. Originally there was a drinking fountain, but it is now missing and only the square base remains.

Portrait male -- Varney, David B. -- Bust

Occupation -- Political -- Mayor

Occupation -- Political -- State Senator

Occupation -- Political -- State Congressman

Occupation -- Other -- Businessman

Outdoor Sculpture -- New Hampshire -- Manchester

Administered by City of Manchester, Parks & Recreation Department, 625 Mammoth Road, Manchester, New Hampshire 03104

Located Derryfield Park, Bridge Street, between Weston & Highland Streets, Manchester, New Hampshire

David B. Varney (1822-1901), born in Tuftonboro, New Hampshire, was a businessman who became Mayor of Manchester from 1889 to 1890, as well as a state representative and a state senator. The memorial cost $8,500 or $8,800, and was funded through a bequest from Varney's daughter, Annie Varney Batchelder, who died in 1927, and hr sister, Emma L. Varney, who died in 1935. The bequest specified that the memorial be built in Derryfield Park, which had been acquired by the city during Varney's mayoral term. The artist modeled the portrait of Varney from a photograph kept at the Varney School. The memorial was dedicated on Aug. 28, 1955, the 133rd anniversary of David B. Varney's birth. Dedication included solemn Masonic consecration rites conducted by the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire. Inscriptions above the benches are from Varney's inaugural address of Jan. 1, 1889. For related information see: Manchester Union, March 26, 1901; and the Manchester Annual Report 1955.

IAS files contain: a list of the six names appearing on the center of memorial; newspaper articles from the Manchester Union Leader, Aug. 24, 1955, pg. 3, and Aug. 29, 1955, pg. 1; and an excerpt from David Ruell's typescript "The Public Sculpture of New Hampshire" 1980, pg. 248-250.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, New Hampshire survey, 1993.

Manchester Union Leader, Aug. 24, 1955, pg. 3.

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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