James Butler Bonham, (sculpture).

James Butler Bonham, (sculpture).

Tennant, Allie Victoria, 1898-1971, sculptor.

Nelson, Donald, 1907- , architect.

E. Gargani & Sons, founder.

James Butler Bonham, (sculpture).

Dedicated 1936. 1938. Copyrighted 1938.

Sculpture: bronze; Base: Texas pink granite.

Sculpture: approx. H. 8 ft. x Diam. 42 in.; Base: approx. H. 7 ft. 8 in. x 14 ft. x 14 ft.

(On self-base:) ALLIE TENNANT SC./1938 (copyright symbol) 1938 (On self-base below proper right boot:) G. Gargani, Sons Fdry. N.Y. (On front of base:) JAMES/BUTLER/BONHAM (On right side of base:) BORN FEBRUARY/20.1807.IN/SOUTH CAROLINA/STUDIED AT/SOUTH CAROLINA/COLLEGE 1825-1827/ON THE STAFF OF/THE GOVERNOR OF SOUTH CAROLINA/AT THE TIME OF/THE NULLIFICATION/CONTROVERSY 1832/TO 1833.PRACTICED/LAW AT PENDLETON/SOUTH CAROLINA/AND MONTGOMERY/ALABAMA (On left side of base:) AT THE CALL/OF HIS BOYHOOD/FRIEND WILLIAM/BARRETT TRAVIS/HE CAME TO/TEXAS IN 1835/AND ENGAGED/IN THE WAR FOR/INDEPENDENCE/AS AIDE AND/MESSENGER FOR/TRAVIS.HE WAS/FAITHFUL UNTO/DEATH AT THE/ALAMO MARCH/THE SIXTH 1836 (On back of base:) ERECTED BY THE STATE OF TEXAS 1936/WITH FUNDS APPROPRIATED BY THE FEDERAL/GOVERNMENT TO COMMEMORATE ONE/HUNDRED YEARS OF TEXAS INDEPENDENCE signed Founder's mark appears.

Full-length bronze portrait of James Butler Bonham. He wears a suit and overcoat. In his proper right hand he holds a western-style brim hat. Strapped to his proper right hip is a powder horn. Strapped to his proper left hip is a satchel. He wears square-toed boots and spurs. The sculpture stands atop an octagonal pedestal mounted on a low octagonal base. The pedestal and base are pink granite.

Portrait male -- Bonham, James Butler -- Full length

Occupation -- Law -- Lawyer

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Outdoor Sculpture -- Texas -- Bonham

Administered by Fannin County Commissioners Court, 101 East Sam Rayburn Drive, Bonham, Texas 75418

Located Bonham County Courthouse, NW corner of Highway 82 & Highway 78, Southest corner of courthouse square, Bonham, Texas

Bonham was a practicing lawyer in South Carolina and a hero of the battle of the Alamo in Texas. $7,500 in federal funds were used to pay for the sculpture to commemorate one hundred years of Texas independence. There is a conflict in dates: inscription on base lists dedication date of 1936; copyright and execution date are cited by SOS! survey and related newspaper articles as 1938. IAS files contain copy of related articles from Bonham Daily Favorite, Dec. 15 & 19, 1938. IAS files contain related excerpt from Harold Schoen's "Monuments Erected by the State of Texas to Commemorate the Centenary of Texas Independence", Austin: Commission of Control for Texas Centennial Celebrations, 1938, pg. 69.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Texas survey, 1993.

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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