Pocahontas, (sculpture).

Pocahontas, (sculpture).

MacKay, Jean V., 1909-2002, sculptor.

Georgia Marble Company, carver.

Pocahontas, (sculpture).

Commissioned May 1935. Relocated 1939. Relocated ca. 1975. Relocated 2016.

Sculpture: pink marble.

Sculpture: approx. 6 ft. x 21 in. x 10 in.

Full-length partially nude female figure, kneeling with a dagger held in her proper right hand, the tip of the blade embedded in the base.

Portrait female -- Pocahontas -- Full length

Ethnic -- Indian

Outdoor Sculpture -- North Carolina -- West Jefferson

Administered by Town of West Jefferson, West Jefferson, North Carolina

Located Backstreet Park, West Jefferson, North Carolina

Formerly located Ashe Memorial Works, West Jefferson, North Carolina 1939.

Formerly located Tri County Monuments, West Jefferson, North Carolina until-ca. 1975.

Gamble, John, Dr., Lincolnton, North Carolina ca. 1975-2016.

This pink marble figure, originally named Our Lady of Peace, was commissioned by the Veterans Association of Geneva, New York as the centerpiece of a pink marble fountain created in Geneva's Pulteney Park to honor war veterans from Geneva. An article in the Geneva Daily Times, Oct. 6, 1938, notes that the carving of the figure in pink marble was almost completed at the Georgia Marble Company when the sculptor discovered that dark veins in the marble marred the appearance of the face and upper body of the figure. The Georgia Marble Company agreed to carve the figure again in a new block of marble at no cost to the City of Geneva, and the new figure in white mable was dedicated on May 30, 1939 (See IAS record 76002385). The rejected pink marble sculpture, later renamed Pocahontas, was moved to West Jefferson, North Carolina, first sold to the Ashe Memorial Works owner Will Reeves in 1939 according to the Geneva Times, Sept. 25, 1975. After Ashe Memorial Works was sold to a new owner, the pink marble figure was sold to Dr. John Gamble of Lincolnton. The figure was installed in the garden of the Gamble family farm until 2016, when the family sold the figure to the town of West Jefferson and it was installed in Backstreet Park. IAS files contain related articles from Ashe Mountain Times, July 31, 2014 and April 1, 2016. The July 31, 2014 article includes a photo of the figure installed outside Ashe Memorial Works with owner Will Reeves standing on left side and an uidentified man standing on the right.

Orzell, Bill, 2016.

Ashe Mountain Times (West Jefferson, NC), July 31, 2014.

Ashe Mountain Times (West Jefferson, NC), April 1, 2016.

Ashe Mountain Times (West Jefferson, NC), July 31, 2014.

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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