Henry W. Grady, (sculpture).

Henry W. Grady, (sculpture).

Doyle, Alexander, 1857-1922, sculptor.

Fallon, J. P., contractor.

Ames Manufacturing Company, founder.

Gorham Manufacturing Company, founder.

Southern Granite Company, fabricator.

Henry W. Grady, (sculpture).

Henry Grady Memorial, (sculpture).

Modeled 1890. Dedicated Oct. 21, 1891.

Sculpture: bronze; Base: Georgia granite or Georgia marble.

(On each allegorical figure:) Gorham Mfg. Co. Founders (Front of base:) HENRY W. GRADY/JOURNALIST, ORATOR, PATRIOT/EDITOR OF THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION/BORN IN ATHENS, GEORGIA, MAY 24TH, 1850,/DIED IN ATLANTA, DECEMBER 23rd, 1889./GRADUATED AT THE STATE UNIVERSITY IN THE YEAR 1868,/- HE NEVER HELD OR SOUGHT PUBLIC OFFICE. -/"WHEN HE DIED HE WAS LITERALLY LOVING A NATION INTO PEACE."/HENRY W. GRADY/(bottom:) THIS TABLET PLACED HERE BY THE CENTRAL/MARIETTA STREET ASSOCIATION ON THIS OCCASION/OF THE FORMAL DESIGNATION OF THIS/JUNCTION OF THE CITY AS "HENRY GRADY SQUARE"/DECEMBER 20, 1929 (Rear of base: excerpts of speeches given by Grady in Boston, Dec. 1889, and at the University of Virginia, June 25, 1889) Founder's mark appears.

A memorial featuring a full-length portrait of Henry W. Grady, flanked on the lower level by two seated allegorical female figures. Grady is depicted as he is giving a speech, dressed in a long coat and vest. His proper right hand is raised to his chest. The seated female figures on the lower level of the base represent Memory and History. One figure holds a crown of laurel leaves; the other holds a pen in her proper right hand, a scroll in her proper left hand, her proper left foot atop a book.

Portrait male -- Grady, Henry Woodfin -- Full length

Figure female -- Full length

Occupation -- Writer -- Editor

Occupation -- Writer -- Journalist

Allegory -- Arts & Sciences -- History

Allegory -- Other -- Memory

Dress -- Historic -- Classical Dress

Dress -- Accessory -- Hat

Object -- Other -- Writing Tool

Object -- Written Matter -- Book

Outdoor Sculpture -- Georgia -- Atlanta

Administered by City of Atlanta, Department of Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Affairs, Bureau of Cultural Affairs, 675 Ponce de Leon Avenue, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30308

Located Henry Grady Square, Marietta Street at Forsyth Street, Atlanta, Georgia

Formerly located City Hall, Marietta Street, Atlanta, Georgia until ca. 1929.

Henry Woodfin Grady (1850-1889) was a writer and speaker who became a reporter for the Atlanta Constitution in 1876 and served as part-owner and managing editor of the newspaper from 1880 until his sudden death of pneumonia. One of the inscriptions on the rear of the base is an excerpt from a speech Grady delivered in Boston a few days before his death, where he contacted a cold that developed into pneumonia. The other inscription on the rear of the base is an excerpt from an address Grady delivered to the graduating class of the University of Virginia, June 25, 1889. The memorial was erected by a committee, with more than $20,000 raised through public subscription, including contributions from the City of Atlanta and the State of Georgia. Bids for the memorial were completed on March 1, 1890. The figure of Grady was cast by the Ames Manufacturing Company, and the allegorical figures were cast by the Gorham Manufacturing Company. The base was fabricated by the Southern Granite Company. Ground was broken for the memorial on Sept. 7, 1891, under the direction of contractor P. J. Fallon. Originally, the sculpture was installed in front of City Hall (now demolished) on Marietta Street in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Later, the sculpture was relocated to its current site, and on Dec. 20, 1929, the new site was designed as Henry Grady Square by the Central Marietta Street Association. In preparation for Atlanta's 1996 Olympics, the sculpture was moved a few feet to create a wider median for pedestrians. For related information see: The Atlanta Historical Society, A Journal of Georgia and the South (vols. 30, no. 2; 32, no. 2; 36, no. 1).

IAS files contain transcription of inscriptions on rear of base; excerpt from Franklin M. Garrett's "Atlanta & Environs," pg. 233, including a list of eight contributors; articles from The Atlanta Journal/The Atlanta Constitution, Nov. 22, 1993, pg. C1, C4, and, Jan. 28, 1994, Weekend Preview sect., pg. P2.; OAH (Organization of American Historians) Newsletter 21, no. 4 (Nov. 1993): pg. 7-8; 1984 article from Atlanta Magazine, identified only as Art. sect, pg. 20-21; excerpt from the "Official Guide to the City of Atlanta," compiled by the Atlanta Convention and Tourist Bureau, c. 1926, pg. 52.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Georgia, Atlanta survey, 1993.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, GA0026, 1989.

Monumental News, June 1891, pg. 212.

Inventory staff, 2000, 2001.

OAH Newsletter 4, no. 21 (Nov. 1993): pg. 7.

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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