Louis XVI, (sculpture).

Louis XVI, (sculpture).

Valois, Achille, 1785-1862, sculptor.

Riehm-Gerlack Monument Company, contractor.

Louis XVI, (sculpture).

ca. 1816, or 1827. Relocated 1967. Rededicated July 17, 1967.

Sculpture: Carrara marble; Base: limestone.

Sculpture: approx. 11 ft. 6 in. x 4 ft. 5 in. x 5 ft. 3 in.; Base: approx. 6 ft. 1 in. x 5 ft. 6 in. x 5 ft. (9 tons).

(On scroll of sculpture:) ESTAMEM/du/ROI (Front of base, incised lettering:) LOUIS XVI/1754.1793/KING OF FRANCE/1774.1793/THIS CITY WAS NAMED LOUISVILLE/IN 1780 BECAUSE OF HIS SUPPORT/OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES IN THE/REVOLUTIONARY WAR/THE STATUE, SCULPTURED BY VALOIS/IN 1827 WAS GIVEN TO LOUISVILLE/BY HER SISTER CITY IN FRANCE/MONTPELLIER/AS A PERMANENT SYMBOL OF OUR SPECIAL FRIENDSHIP/DEDICATED JULY 17, 1967/FRANCOIS DELMAS/MAYOR OF MONTPELLIER/KENNETH SCHMIED/MAYOR OF LOUISVILLE unsigned

Figure of French King Louis XVI, standing with his proper left foot slightly forward, his proper left hand holding a staff, and his proper right hand extended forward. He wears robes with fleur-de-lis and ermine tails. A cherub reclines on a crown towards the rear of his proper right side and gazes up toward him. There is a scroll in the cherub's proper right arm. The sculpture is mounted on a square base.

Portrait male -- Louis XVI -- Full length

Occupation -- Other -- Aristocrat

Religion -- Angel

Dress -- Accessory -- Hat

Ethnic -- French

Dress -- Accessory -- Cane

Outdoor Sculpture -- Kentucky -- Louisville

Administered by Jefferson County Government, Jefferson County Fiscal Court, Jefferson County Courthouse, Louisville, Kentucky 40202

Located Jefferson County Courthouse, Northeast corner of 6th & Jefferson Streets, Louisville, Kentucky

The City of Louisville (Kentucky) was named after Louis XVI (1754-1793), King of France, because of his support of the American Colonies during the Revolutionary War. The sculpture was a gift of Louisville's sister city in France, Montpellier, in 1966, and was sent to Louisville in 1967, where it was dedicated and stood near the Jefferson County Courthouse. It was moved to its present location near the Courthouse in 1973. Riehm-Gerlack Monument Company installed the sculpture.

IAS files contain the following articles from the Louisville Courier Journal: Feb. 3, 1991, sect. 1, pg. 1, 15; July 5, 1975; Dec. 4, 1974; July 17, 1974. The latter three articles discuss the theft and replacement of the figure's proper left foot.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Kentucky survey, 1995.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, KY0035, 1989.

Altrusa Club of Louisville, "Cut, Cast, Carved," Louisville, KY: Chamber of Commerce, 1974, pg. 10.

Louisville Courier Journal, Feb. 3, 1991, sect. 1, 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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