Jefferson Davis Monument, (sculpture).

Jefferson Davis Monument, (sculpture).

Valentine, Edward Virginius, 1838-1930, sculptor.

Noland, William F., architect.

Gorham Manufacturing Company, founder.

Jefferson Davis Monument, (sculpture).

Commissioned 1896. Dedicated June 3, 1907. Removed June 10, 2020.

Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite.

Overall: approx. 100 x 60 x 30 ft.; Base: approx. W. 60 ft.

Gorham Co (In bronze letter on tall column behind Jefferson Davis portrait:) JEFFERSON DAVIS/PRESIDENT/OF/THE CONFEDERATE STATES/OF AMERICA/1861-1865 (On front of granite base below Jefferson Davis portrait:) JEFFERSON DAVIS/EXPONENT OF/CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES/DEFENDER OF THE RIGHTS OF STATES/CRESCIT OCCULTO VELUT/ARBOR ALVO FAMA

(On left side of granite base below Jefferson Davis portrait:) AS CITIZEN, SOLDIER,/STATESMAN, HE ENHANCED/THE GLORY AND ENLARGED/THE FAME OF THE UNITED/STATES./WHEN HIS ALLEGIANCE/TO THAT GOVERNMENT WAS/TERMINATED BY HIS SOVER-/EIGN STATE, AS PRESIDENT/OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES/HE EXALTED HIS COUNTRY/BEFORE THE NATIONS. (On right side of granite base below Jefferson Davis portrait:) WITH CONTANCY AND/COURAGE UNSURPASSED/HE SUSTAINED THE HEAVY/BURDEN LAID UPON HIM BY/HIS PEOPLE./WHEN THEIR CAUSE WAS/LOST, WITH DIGNITY HE MET/DEFEAT, WITH FORTITUDE/HE ENDURED IMPRISONMENT/AND SUFFERING, WITH EN-/TIRE DEVOTION HE KEPT/THE FAITH. Founder's mark appears.

At the foot of a tall column topped by a bronze female figure of "Vindication" is a bronze portrait of Jefferson Davis standing with his proper right arm extended and his proper left arm resting on a podium atop a copy of the Bible. Behind the column is a semicircular arrangement of thirteen columns adorned with bronze plaques and a wrought iron fence.

Portrait male -- Davis, Jefferson -- Full length

Occupation -- Political -- President

Occupation -- Political -- Statesman

Object -- Written Matter -- Bible

Figure female -- Full length

Allegory -- Civic -- Rebellion

Administered by City of Richmond, Department of Planning and Community Development, 900 East Broad Street, Room 510, Richmond, Virginia 23219

Formerly located Monument Avenue at Davis Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 1907-2020.

The entire monument was designed by William C. Noland, of Richmond. Erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy for $70,000 in honor of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America. IAS files contain transcriptions of additional plaques on the memorial; newspaper articles from The Boston Sunday Globe, Nov. 11, 1906; The Evening Tribune (Providence, RI), Nov. 13, 1906; the Richmond Evening Journal, March 26, 1907 and Nov. 10, 1906; and a copy of the agreement with the artist.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985

Commonwealth of Virginia, Virginia Landmarks Commission, 1974.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Virginia survey, 1995.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, VA0051, 1989.

Monumental News, Dec. 1903; Sept. 1905.

Dupre, Judith, "Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory," New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 2007, pg. 67.

Dupre, Judith, "Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory," New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 2007, pg. 67.

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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