Statue of Henry Clay, (sculpture).

Statue of Henry Clay, (sculpture).

Mulligan, Charles J., 1866-1916, sculptor.

Bullet, A., carver.

Bossi, Giacorno, carver.

Giannini, Garabin, carver.

Struthers, William, carver.

Hart, Joel Tanner, 1810-1877, sculptor. (copy after)

Haly, John, contractor.

William Adams & Son, contractor.

Statue of Henry Clay, (sculpture).

Henry Clay Monument, (sculpture).

Original ca. 1857-1861. Dedicated July 4, 1861. Replacement statue: May 1910. Rededicated July 29, 1976.

Digital Reference:

Kentucky magnesia limestone.

Statue: approx. H. 15 ft. 3 in; Base: approx. 132 ft. 6 in. x 39 ft. x 39 ft.

(Proper right side of base, lower right corner:) July 4, 1857/Corner Laid (Bronze plaque on side of door:) Henry Clay, born in Virginia in 1777 came to Lexington at the age of 20 and quickly established a successful law practice. In 1799 he married Lucretia Hart, daughter of one of the city's most prominent families. He served 6 years in Kentucky House of Representatives, part of that time as speaker and filled 2 unexpired terms in the United States Senate before being elected to the United States House in 1811. There he was speaker until 1814, and again from 1815-20 and 1823-25. In 1814 he was one of the country's ministers to Ghent, where the treaty with Great Britain was written, ending the War of 1812. From 1825-1829 he was Secretary of State under President John Quincy Adams, and from 1831 to 1842 and 1849-1852 was United States Senator.

Throughout his long career, Clay was famed as one of America's greatest statesman and orators and was a candidate for President of the United States in 1824 and again in 1844. After his death in Washington in 1852 his remains were brought to Lexington for burial as he had instructed. The Clay Monument Association financed and erected this memorial which was completed in 1861 and which contains the sarcophagi of Henry Clay and Mrs. Clay who died in 1864./In July 1976, the weather worn monument restored by state and local government was rededicated and enrolled on the National Register of Historic Places.

Statue of Henry Clay, standing, atop tall Corinthian column which surmounts mausoleum tomb.

Portrait male -- Clay, Henry -- Full length

Occupation -- Education -- Orator

Occupation -- Political -- Statesman

Occupation -- Law

Occupation -- Political -- Congressman

Occupation -- Political -- Senator

Occupation -- Political -- Secretary of State

Occupation -- Political -- State Congressman

Outdoor Sculpture -- Kentucky -- Lexington

Administered by Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Historic Preservation, 200 East Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40507

Located Lexington Cemetery, 833 West Main Street, Section M, Lexington, Kentucky 40508

Memorial and tomb for Lexington native Henry Clay and his wife, Lucretia Hart Clay, d. 1864. The idea for the memorial tomb originated the day after Clay's death in 1852. A courthouse resolution approved the idea for the monument and established a Memorial Committee Clay Monument Association to raise funds for the statue. The cornerstone for the memorial was laid July 4, 1857. The entire monument cost $58,000, with $10,000 contributed by the state legislature. The monument was designed by Julius W. Adams, architect; John Haly served as contractor and Thomas Lewinski as engineer. Julius Adams reportedly modeled the head from a plaster bust of Clay made by Joel Tanner Hart. The sculpture was carved by A. Bullet; Garabin Giannini and Giacomo Bossi. It was completed July 4, 1861. Inside the mausoleum tomb is a carved sarcophagi made by William Struthers.

Numerous repairs have been made to the memorial over the years, including replacing the roof of the mausoleum. During a storm on July 21, 1903, the head of the statue was destroyed, damaging a portion of the base when it fell. In 1910, the general assembly appropriated $10,000 for a new replacement head. The replacement head (or statue, reports conflict) was carved by Charles J. Mulligan and erected in May 1910 by William Adam & Son, monument works of Lexington, Kentucky. The statue was again struck by lightning on Sept. 19, 1910, breaking off Clay's right hand, shattering his right leg and damaging the body. The state legislature appropriated an additional $10,000 for repairs. By the 1970s, the statue had badly deteriorated. In 1976, with state and local funding (Lexington-Fayette County government $35,000; State Parks Commission $50,000 and cemetery company $2,000), the memorial was restored by M and A Building and Maintenance Company (Cleveland, Ohio).

In July 1976, the Lexington Cemetery and the Henry Clay Monument were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. IAS files contain related excerpt from Burton Milward's "A History of Lexington Cemetery," Lexington Cemetery Co., 1989, pgs. 33-42. IAS files also contain copy of 1976 rededication program; 1949 correspondence concerning the memorial; and related excerpt from "The Kentucky Encyclopedia," John E. Kleber, edit., Univ. Press of Kentucky, Lexington, 1992. IAS files also contain complete transcription of plaque text found on mausoleum door.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Kentucky survey, 1994.

Lexington Cemetery, 1988.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, KY0075, 1989.

Monumental News, Aug. and Sept. 1903, March and Dec. 1905, Jan. and June 1910.

Monumental News, Sept. 1903, pg. 541.

Monumental News, June 1910, pg. 426.

Monumental News, Jan. 1910, pg. 24.

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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