Marcus Daly, (sculpture).

Marcus Daly, (sculpture).

Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, 1848-1907, sculptor.

Hering, Henry, 1874-1949, sculptor.

Hering, Elsie Ward, 1872/74-1923, sculptor.

Carrere, John M., architect.

Hastings, Thomas, 1860-1929, architect.

Green, Fred, engineer.

Gorham Manufacturing Company, founder.

Carrere & Hastings, architectural firm.

Marcus Daly, (sculpture).

1904-1905. Cast June 1906. Dedicated Sept. 2, 1907. Relocated 1941.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: Montana granite.

Sculpture: approx. H. 8 ft. 2 in.; Base: approx. 6 ft. x 7 ft. 4 in. x 7 ft. 4 in.

AVGVSTVS SAINT-GAUDENS ASPET MCMV (On base, incised:) MARCUS DALY/A PIONEER MINER WHO FIRST DEVELOPED/THE FAMOUS PROPERTIES ON THE HILL/OVERLOOKING THE SITE OF THIS MEMORIAL/WHICH IS ERECTED BY HIS FELLOW CITIZENS/IN TRIBUTE TO HIS NOBLE TRAITS OF CHARACTER/IN GRATEFUL REMEMBERANCE OF HIS GOOD DEEDS/AND IN COMMEMORATION OF THE SPLENDID/SERVICES HE RENDERED AS A BUILDER/OF THE CITY OF BUTTE AND THE STATE/OF MONTANA/ERECTED AD 1906 signed

Full-length portrait of Marcus Daly, dressed in suit and vest. Over his proper left arm, he carries an overcoat; in his proper right hand, he holds a hat. He stands atop square granite base.

Portrait male -- Daly, Marcus

Occupation -- Industry -- Mining

Outdoor Sculpture -- Montana -- Butte

Administered by Montana Tech of the University of Montana, 1300 West Park Street, Butte, Montana 59701

Located Montana Tech of the University of Montana, West Park Street entrance, Butte, Montana

Formerly located North Main Street, opposite courthouse & Post Office, Butte, Montana 1907-1941.

The sculpture commemorates Marcus Daly, one of Montana's three "copper kings," and the discoverer of Butte's rich copper deposits. Marcus Daly was born in 1841 in Derrylea, Ireland. In 1876 he invested in the Alice Silver Mine in Butte, Montana, later selling his share for $30,000, which he used to purchase the Anaconda Silver Mine. The Anaconda Silver Mine brought large scale mining to Butte and thereafter Butte was known as "The Richest Hill on Earth." When the silver mine began to run out, Daly found a huge vein of copper, which at that time was in high demand because of the emerging electrification of America. The high demand for copper enabled Daly to build his own smelter, and the resulting employment built the town of Anaconda and the Butte, Anaconda, and Pacific (BA&P) railroad. Daly then built the town of Hamilton, Montana to provide timber for his mines, as well as fuel for the smelter. By 1890, the copper mines in Butte were producing over seventeen million dollars a year worth of copper. Daly used his wealth to make many improvements around Montana, including building power plants, railroads, and lumber mills.

Following his death, the Daly Memorial Association was formed to erect a statue in his honor. They raised $25,000 within the following year and contracted with Saint-Gaudens in May 1902 to create the monument. Saint-Gaudens created the likeness using photographs and a death mask of Daly. The first cast, made in the summer of 1904, was destroyed in a studio fire in the fall of 1904. A second cast was made by the Gorham Company in the spring of 1905. Henry & Elsie Ward Hering assisted Saint-Gaudens. The original architects of the memorial were John Carrere and Thomas Hastings, but the final design was by Fred Green, an Anaconda Company engineer.

An additional $15,000 was raised for the base, which was carved by Carrere & Hastings from granite quarried in Homestake, Montana. The inscription on the base was written by J. H. Durston of the Anaconda Standard. The statue arrived in Butte in July 1906, but pending completion of the base, was not erected until Sept. 1907. The sculpture is the last known work of Saint-Gaudens, who died 1 1/2 months prior to the statue's dedication. The sculpture was originally installed in front of the Post Office on North Main Street, but because of a traffic accident it was moved in 1941 to the campus of the Montana College of Mineral Science & Technology (Montana Tech), then known as the Montana School of Mines.

The Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives has a vertical file on the Marcus Daly Memorial Statue, which includes correspondence with St. Gaudens agreeing to undertake the statue for $25,000; and photographs of the statue's move in 1941. IAS files contain an excerpt from Dryfhout text, and newsclipping from Butte Miner, Sept. 3, 1907, which details dedication ceremony and speeches. IAS files contain additional bibliographic citations from the Butte Miner. The sculpture is often subject to college student pranks.

SOS Conservation Treatment Award, 2001.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Montana survey, 1994.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, MT2001, 1989.

Monumental News, July 1902; June 1905.

Dryfhout, John H., "The Works of Saint-Gaudens," Hanover & London: University Press of New England, 1982, pg. 275.

SOS Assessment Award, 2000.

Dryfhout, John H., "The Works of Saint-Gaudens," Hanover & London, Univer. of New England Press, 1982, pg. 275.

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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