Benjamin Franklin, (sculpture).

Benjamin Franklin, (sculpture).

Park, Richard Henry, 1832-1902, sculptor.

Asbjornsen, Sigvald, 1867-1954, sculptor.

H. C. Hoffman & Co., contractor.

Benjamin Franklin, (sculpture).

Dedicated June 6, 1896.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: Barre granite.

Sculpture: approx. 8 x 3 1/2 x 3 ft.; Base: approx. 7 ft. 8 in. x 5 ft. x 5 ft.

(Top of base:) FRANKLIN (On base plaque:) Presented to the Printers/of Chicago, By Joseph Medill/June 6th, 1896 signed

Benjamin Franklin standing dressed in Colonial attire with left hand on hip and right hand hanging at side. The figure is placed on a tall rectangular stepped base.

Portrait male -- Franklin, Benjamin -- Full length

Occupation -- Political -- Diplomat

Occupation -- Political -- Statesman

Occupation -- Science -- Inventor

Occupation -- Writer -- Author

Occupation -- Education -- Philosopher

Dress -- Historic -- Eighteenth Century Dress

Outdoor Sculpture -- Illinois -- Chicago

Administered by Chicago Park District, Preservation Planning Division, 425 East McFetridge Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605

Located at Lincoln Park, Stockton Drive, north of LaSalle Drive, Chicago, Illinois

Parks commissioned Asbjornsen to create, model and oversee casting of this $20,000 monument. On Jan. 17, 1896, the editor of the Chicago Tribune, Joseph Medill, and the Old Time Printers Association presented this statue to Lincoln Park. It was erected near the Lincoln Park Zoo and unveiled by Rene Bache, a descendant of Franklin. Later, when the zoo expanded, it was moved to its present location. The Chicago Park District Monument and Sculpture Photographic Archives have black and white photographs of the monument in its original setting. The Chicago Park District Monument and Sculpture Preservation Files have newspaper articles, miscellaneous correspondence and conservation treatments report with photographic documentation. For related articles see Chicago Tribune, July, 14, 1935, June 11, 1944 and Herald-American International, Jan. 18, 1945.

Monumental News, Nov. 1895; Dec. 1895.

Riedy, James L., "Chicago Sculpture," Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1981, pg. 222-223.

Bach, Ira J., and Mary Lackritz Gray, "A Guide to Chicago's Public Sculpture," Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983, pg. 126-128.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, IL0098, 1989.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Illinois, Chicago survey, 1992.

Heitmann, Helen M., 1993.

Chicago Tribune, June 11, 1944.

Bach, Ira J., and Mary Lackritz Gray, "A Guide to Chicago's Public Sculpture," Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983, pg. 127.

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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