The Marquis de Lafayette, (sculpture).

The Marquis de Lafayette, (sculpture).

Hiolle, Ernest-Eugene, 1834-1886, sculptor. (copy after)

Jackson, Harry, 1924-2011, sculptor.

Wyoming Foundry Studios, founder.

The Marquis de Lafayette, (sculpture).

Original cast 1883. Replica cast 1974. Dedicated 1976. Rededicated Feb. 23, 2001.

Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite; Fountain basin: marble.

Sculpture: approx. 10 x 4 x 3 ft.; Base: approx. H. 8 ft. x W. 4 ft. x Diam. 20 ft. (440 lbs.).

A portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette, dressed in a French National Guard uniform. He wears a powdered wig, a vest, and a jacket with tails and brocaded shoulders. In his proper right hand he holds up a ribbon, the French tricolor, which proclaims the rights of man before the French Assembly. In his lowered proper left hand, Lafayette holds his hat. A sword is attached to his proper left side. The sculpture is mounted atop a circular granite base that sits in a circular marble basin, which in turn sits in a much larger marble basin. Jets of water spray around all sides of the sculpture.

Portrait male -- Lafayette, Marquis de -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- General

Occupation -- Other -- Aristocrat

Occupation -- Political -- Statesman

Occupation -- Writer -- Author

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Ethnic -- French

Outdoor Sculpture -- Georgia -- LaGrange

Lent by LaGrange College, Lamar Dodd Art Center, 601 Broad Street, LaGrange, Georgia 30240

On loan to City of LaGrange, 200 Ridley Avenue, LaGrange, Georgia 30240

Located Lafayette Square, LaGrange, Georgia

When he visited the Governor of Georgia in the 1830s, Lafayette commented that the countryside now known as LaGrange reminded him of the area near his home in France, the Chateau de La Grange. Subsequently, the City of LaGrange and LaGrange College were both named in honor of Lafayette's home. In 1973, the president of LaGrange College, Dr. Waights G. Henry, who had amassed a collection of Lafayette memorabilia, was invited to France to receive the American flag that flew over Lafayette's grave. While visiting, he was impressed by Ernest-Eugene Hoille's 1883 statue of Lafayette, which stands in the town square at LePuy. Dr. Henry later received permission from the mayor of LePuy to reproduce the statue in bronze. With funding provided by a Callaway Foundation grant, Dr. Henry commissioned sculptor Harry Jackson to reproduce the statue. Molds taken from the original statue were sent to Jackson's studio in Italy to be cast in bronze. The finished replica was then placed on permanent loan to the City of LaGrange and was installed in the LaGrange town square, which was renamed Lafayette Square. IAS files contain a fact sheet from the Troup County Historical Society Archives.

A nearby plaque reads: LAFAYETTE/Born at the Chateau de Chavaniac, Auvergne, France on Sept. 6, 1757 Gilbert Motier de LaFayette became at age 19 a major general on George Washington's staff. He played a vital role in the defeat of Gen. Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Oct. 19, 1781 ending the American Revolution. Later in France LaFayette was commanding general of the National Guard, leader in the movement that gave France a Republican form of government, author of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and designer of concorde of liberty which he holds in his hand. La Grange, Georgia was named for LaFayette's home, the Chateau de La Grange, on motion of Julius C. Alford, when this city was chartered on Dec. 16, 1828 honoring LaFayette who crossed the Chattahoochee below La Grange on March 30, 1825. This statue of LaFayette is an exact copy of the original by Ernest-Eugene Hiolle (1834-1886) that stands in Le Puy, Auvergne, France. It was cast by American sculptor Harry Jackson at his Wyoming Foundry Studios, Camaiore, Italy in 1974.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Georgia survey, 1993.

SOS Assessment Award, 1998.

Inventory staff, 2000, 2001.

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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