State House Eagle, (sculpture).

State House Eagle, (sculpture).

E. G. Washburne Company, fabricator.

Raynard, Ralph E., Jr., fabricator.

Morse, Leonard, sculptor. (copy after)

State House Eagle, (sculpture).

1957. Dedicated Nov. 11, 1957.

Approx. 6 ft. 6 in. x 4 ft. 10 in. x 1 ft. 8 in.

A gilded copper, reinforced with brass angle irons and bars and mounted atop dome of New Hampshire State House. The eagle stands upright with wings spread open in a vertical position. The eagle's head is turned to the proper right.

Animal -- Bird -- Eagle

Outdoor Sculpture -- New Hampshire -- Concord

Architectural component

Administered by State of New Hampshire, Department of Transportation, Public Works, Hazen Drive, Concord, New Hampshire 03301

Located New Hampshire State House, Dome, Concord, New Hampshire

The sculpture cost $3,700. In 1957, the eagle was mounted on top of the New Hampshire State House dome in place of the original gilded wooden State House Eagle, which had been carved around 1818 by Leonard Morse. (The old eagle, which had become weather-worn and was beyond repair, was moved to the New Hampshire Historical Society.) The replacement eagle, constructed of copper covered with gold leaf, was created by E. G. Washburne Company of Danvers, Massachusetts, under the direction of Ralph E. Raynard, Jr. It is a near replica of the first eagle with the exception that the head is turned in the opposite direction. (At the suggestion of New Hampshire Governor Dwinell, the new bird's head was cocked over his right shoulder, the symbol of a "peace" eagle. A war eagle cocks its beak to the left). The sculpture was refurbished and regilded in 1992 and 1993 by International Restoration Specialists of Worcester, MA.

IAS files contain excerpt from Leon Anderson's "New Hampshire's State House Eagle," Concord, N.H.: Evans Printing Company, 1971; and articles from the Concord Daily Monitor, Nov. 12, 1957, pg. 1 and 8; the Manchester Union Leader, Dec. 5, 1992; and the Boston Sunday Globe (N.H. Weekly), Sept. 26, 1993, pg. 1. IAS files also articles from the Concord Monitor: July 29, 1993; Oct. 11, 1994, pg. B-1 and B-4; and Oct. 12, 1994.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, New Hampshire survey, 1993.

Boston Sunday Globe (N. H. Weekly), Sept. 26, 1993, pg. 1.

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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