Edgar Allan Poe Monument, (sculpture).

Edgar Allan Poe Monument, (sculpture).

Ezekiel, Moses Jacob, Sir, 1844-1917, sculptor.

Corinthia, founder.

Edgar Allan Poe Monument, (sculpture).

Commissioned May 1911. Modeled 1913-1915. Cast 1915. Dedicated Oct. 20, 1921.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: concrete.

Sculpture: approx. 5 ft. x 27 in. x 45 in.; Base: approx. 25 in. x 8 ft. x 8 ft.

(On proper left front edge of sculpture:) Rome 1915 (On proper right front edge of sculpture:) M. Exekiel(sic) (On the middle of the front edge:) Corinthia/Fond.Art.Roma signed Founder's mark appears.

A seated portrait of Edgar Allan Poe leaning forward to listen to the Muses, his arms resting on the arms of a large square chair and his head bowed slightly. Behind him on the back of the chair is a book and his overcoat. The sides of the chair are adorned with reliefs depicting winged Muses. On his proper left side, the Muse is hanging laurel festoons and on his proper right side, the Muse is playing a harp. The sculpture rests on a low square base.

Portrait male -- Poe, Edgar Allan -- Full length

Occupation -- Writer -- Poet

Mythology -- Classical -- Muse

Object -- Written Matter -- Book

Outdoor Sculpture -- Maryland -- Baltimore

Administered by City of Baltimore, Recreation and Parks, 2600 Madison Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21217

Located University of Baltimore, Law Center plaza at Maryland & Mt. Royal Avenues, Baltimore, Maryland 21201

Originally installed Wyman Park, 29th Street, Baltimore, Maryland

The inscription on a nearby plaque reads: EDGAR ALLAN POE/ 19 JANUARY 1809/ 7 OCTOBER 1849/ DREAMING DREAMS/ NO MORTAL/ EVER DARED/ TO DREAM BEFORE.

The artist was commissioned in May 1911 by The Edgar Allan Poe Memorial Association of Baltimore City which was formed on April 12, 1907. The first model, finished in 1913, was destroyed in a custom house fire while en route to a foundry in Berlin; the second model, finished in May 1915, was broken in the artist's Rome studio by an earthquake; and finally a third sculpture was finished and ready for shipment by March 1916, but the Poe Memorial Association was afraid to ship it across the Atlantic during World War I. Although the artist died in 1917, it was not until the summer of 1921 that the sculpture finally reached Baltimore.

The base, too, was the victim of similar mishaps. The inscription on the front of the base, a quotation from Poe's "The Raven" was accidentally carved as "Dreamng(sic) dreams no mortals(sic) ever dared to dream before." Although the "i" left out of "Dreaming" did not bother Baltimore resident Edmond Fontaine, the "s" on the end of "mortal" so disturbed him, that he threatened to remove the offending "s" if it was not done so officially. Many Poe enthusiasts agreed that in the accepted editions of Poe's work, the word "mortal" appears in the singular. On the evening of May 29, 1930, Mr. Fontaine made good on his promise and in just a few minutes using a hammer and chisel, the superfluous "s" was removed. He also took the time to remove black paint that had been smeared on the sculpture for some time. Although he was arrested, he was not prosecuted.

The sculpture no longer rests on its original base which is now missing. Other inscriptions that appeared on the original base read: TO THEE/ THE LAURELS BELONG/ BEST BARD/ WHOSE SWEET DUTY/ WAS BUT TO SING; and ERECTED BY/ THE POE MEMORIAL/ ASSOCIATION/ OF BALTIMORE/ AND THE GENEROSITY/ OF MR. ORREN C. PAINTER.

IAS files contain an excerpt from William Sener Rusk's "Art in Baltimore: Monuments and Memorials," Baltimore: Norman, Remington, 1929, pg. 79-80; and newspaper articles from The Sun (Baltimore, MD), March 6, 1982; Dec. 5, 1948; June 14, 1930; June 6, 1930; May 31, 1930; The Evening Sun (Baltimore, MD), May 24, 1962 and July 22, 1960; and the News American (Baltimore, MD), Oct. 31, 1980. For additional information see Wilbur Harvey Hunter's, "The Monumental City, The Rinehart School of Sculpture 75th Anniversary Catalogue 1896-1971," pg. 16-47.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985

The Peale Museum.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Maryland, Baltimore survey, 1993.

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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