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Potter, Edward Clark,
Windrim, James H.,
Windrim, John T.,
Portrait male -- McClellan, George Brinton
Occupation -- Military
Dress -- Uniform
Equestrian
Outdoor Sculpture -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
Sculpture
The Smith Memorial: Major General
George
B.
McClellan
, (sculpture).
Artist:
Potter, Edward Clark, 1857-1923, sculptor.
Windrim, James H., 1840-1919, architect.
Windrim, John T., architect.
Title:
The Smith Memorial: Major General
George
B.
McClellan
, (sculpture).
Other Titles:
Major General
George
B.
McClellan
, (sculpture).
Dates:
Commissioned Sept. 1909. 1911.
Digital Reference:
Medium:
Sculpture: bronze; Base: stone.
Dimensions:
Sculpture: approx. 10 x 4 x 10 ft.; Base: approx. 7 x 5 x 10 ft.
Inscription:
(Base, front:)
McCLELLAN
Description:
The Smith Memorial stands at the entrance to the west side of Fairmount Park and consists of two curving, neobaroque arches adorned with thirteen individual
portrait
sculptures (2 equestrians, 3 figures, and 8 busts); two eagles standing on globes; and architectural reliefs of 8 allegorical figures. The
portrait
of
George
McClellan
, one of two equestrian portraits (the other is John Quincy Adams Ward's
portrait
of Major General Winfield Scott Hancock), is installed on the end of one of the arches.
McClellan
, dressed in his military uniform complete with cape and cap, rests astride his horse facing out toward the entrance. His proper right hand rests on his right thigh and his proper left hand holds the horse's reins. He faces forward and looks off slightly to his proper left; his horse looks off slightly to the proper right.
Subject:
Portrait
male
--
McClellan
,
George
Brinton
--
Full
length
Occupation
--
Military
--
Major General
Dress
--
Uniform
--
Military Uniform
Equestrian
Object Type:
Outdoor Sculpture
--
Pennsylvania
--
Philadelphia
Sculpture
Owner:
Coadministered by City of Philadelphia, Fairmount Park Commission, Memorial Hall, West Park, P. O. Box 21601, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19131
Coadministered by Fidelity Bank, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Located Fairmount Park, West side of park, North Concourse Drive, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Remarks:
Inscription on memorial reads: THIS/ MONUMENTAL MEMORIAL/ PRESENTED BY/ RICHARD SMITH/ TYPE FOUNDER/ OF PHILADELPHIA -/ IN MEMORY OF/ PENNSYLVANIANS WHO/ TOOK PART IN THE CIVIL WAR/ THEIR STRIFE WAS NOT FOR/ AGGRANDIZEMENT AND WHEN/ CONFLICT CEASED THE NORTH/ WITH THE SOUTH UNITED AGAIN/ TO ENJOY THE COMMON HERITAGE/ LEFT BY THE FATHERS OF OUR/ COUNTRY RESOLVING THAT/ THEREAFTER ALL OUR PEOPLE/ SHOULD DWELL TOGETHER/ IN UNITY.
In 1891, Richard Smith (1821-1894), a wealthy Philadelphia electroplate and type founder, created a will which provided $500,000 for a memorial arch to be adorned with portraits of Pennsylvania's Civil War military and naval heroes. Smith deposited the model and designs for the memorial with the Fidelity Insurance Trust and Safe Deposit Company and stipulated that John B. Gest, president of Fidelity, should handle his request; that the architectural designs and construction should be handled by Philadelphia architect James H. Windrim; and that the selection and supervision of sculptors for the specified portraits should be handled by the Fairmount Park Art Association. The will went into effect upon the death of Smith's wife in 1895, but it was not until 1897 that the Fairmount Park Art Association began work on selecting the sculptors. On May 8, 1898, the initial commissions were awarded, but it was not until 1912 before the last sculpture was installed. Originally Paul Wayland Bartlett was selected to do the equestrian of
McClellan
, but disappointment with Bartlett's model prompted the Fairmount Park Art Association to replace him with Edward Potter in Sept. 1909.
References:
Public Monument Conservation Project, 1986.
Fairmount Park Art Assoc., "Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze & Stone," NY: Walker Publ., 1974, pg. 168-179.
Bach, Penny Balkin, "Public Art in Philadelphia," Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992, pg. 208.
Save Outdoor Sculpture, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia survey, 1993.
Illustration:
Image on file.
Fairmount Park Art Assoc., "Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze & Stone," NY: Walker Publ., 1974, pg. 178.
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 PA000523
Copy/Holding information
Smithsonian AmericanArt Museum
Control Number
Inventory of American Sculpture
PA000523
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