Henry Clay Monument, (sculpture).

Henry Clay Monument, (sculpture).

Aery, John, sculptor.

Ramsey, Alexander, chiseler.

Henry Clay Monument, (sculpture).

Clay Monument, (sculpture).

Overall: approx. H. 20 ft.; Base: Diam. approx. 24 ft.

(Front panel:) TIME/Will bring every amelioration and refinement/most gratifying to rational man; and the/humblest flower freely plucked under the shade/of the Tree of Liberty is more to be desired/than all the trappings of royalty./44 year of AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE/Anno Domini 1820 (Second panel:) This monument was erected by Moses and Lydia Shepherd, as a testimony of respect to Henry Clay, the eloquent defender of National rights and National Independence

The monument originally depicted a full-length female figure, representing the Goddess of Liberty, standing atop a rectangular and columnar base with reliefs. The figure of Liberty had waist-length wavy hair and wore a sleeveless garment which draped across her shoulders and down her back. The drape was held in place by a brooch near her proper right shoulder.

To her proper right side, at her feet, was a large cornucopia with grapes spilling out, a scroll, mask, and shield with stars and stripes. Behind these objects was a large globe with eagle on top.

Allegory -- Civic -- Liberty

Homage -- Clay, Henry

Religion -- New Testament -- Angel

Figure female -- Full length

Dress -- Accessory -- Shield

Object -- Other -- Globe

Object -- Other -- Cornucopia

Dress -- Costume -- Mask

Object -- Fruit

Oglebay Institute, Mansion Museum, Oglebay Park, Wheeling, West Virginia 26003

Formerly located Shepherd Hall, Grounds at Elm Grove, Kruger & National Road, Wheeling, West Virginia 1820-late 1940's.

The monument was erected by Moses and Lydia Shepherd, friends of Henry Clay. Col. Moses Shepherd and Henry Clay were instrumental in building the National Road. The monument was erected on the grounds of Shepherd Hall (now called Monument Place), about fifty feet from a stone bridge. Due to deterioration, it was moved to the Oglebay Mansion Museum in the late 1940s, where is subsequently burned in a fire in 1966. Only a few pieces are extant, among them an angel-like figure.

IAS files contain related excerpts from Bruce, Robert, "The National Road," Clinton, NY: National Highways Association, 1916, pg. 78-79; Gramner, Gibson Lamb, ed. "History of Wheeling City and Ohio County West Virginia and Representative Citizens," Chicago: Biographical Publishing Co., 1902, pg. 302; Foster, and Harriet McIntire, "Shepherd-Cruger-Boggs History," West Virginia Historical Magazine Quarterly 3 (July 1903): pg. 198-199. 1894, pg. 294.

IAS files also contain an excerpt from Seawright, Thomas B., "The Old Pike: A History of the National Road," Uniontown, PA: Thomas B. Seawright, 1894, pg. 294, and several photocopies of historical photographs from the vertical files of the Ohio County Public Library (Wheeling, WV) and the archives of the Osiris Temple (Kruger Street, Wheeling, WV).

Save Outdoor Sculpture, West Virginia survey, 1992.

Foster, Harriet McIntire, "Shepherd-Cruger-Boggs History," West Virginia Historical Magazine Quarterly 3 (July 1903): pg. 198.

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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