William McKinley, (sculpture).

William McKinley, (sculpture).

Lukeman, Augustus, 1871-1935, sculptor.

Jno. Williams, Inc., founder.

Kimball & Combe Company, contractor.

William McKinley, (sculpture).

McKinley Statue, (sculpture).

1902. Dedicated Oct. 10, 1903.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: Stony Creek granite; Base plaques: bronze; Foundation: crushed granite and cement.

Sculpture: approx. 8 x 4 x 3 1/2 ft.; Base: approx. 6 ft. x 4 ft. 3 in. x 4 ft. 3 in.

(Rear of sculpture, proper right side near base:) AVGVSTVS LVKEMAN SCULPTOR 1902 (Rear of sculpture, proper left side near base, incised lettering:) JNO. WILLIAMS/BRONZE FOUNDRY, N.Y. (Front of base, in raised bronze letters:) .WILLIAM./.MCKINLEY. (On front bronze plaque, bottom:) WILLIAM McKINLEY ADDRESSING THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON THE/MEASURE WHICH BECAME FAMOUS UNDER HIS NAME (On east side bronze plaque, bottom:) WILLIAM McKINLEY DELIVERING HIS FIRST INAUGURATION AS PRESIDENT/OF THE UNITED STATES IV MDCCCXCVII (On rear bronze plaque, raised lettering:) "LET VS REMEMBER THAT/OVR INTEREST IS CONCORD/NOT CONFLICT.AND THAT OVR/REAL EMINENCE RESTS IN/THE VICTORIES OF PEACE/NOT THOSE OF WAR" (On west side bronze plaque, bottom:) WILLIAM McKINLEY COMMISSARY SERGEANT AT BATTLE OF ANTIETAM/MDCCLXII signed Founder's mark appears.

A portrait of President William McKinley depicted in characteristic pose of giving an address, his proper left arm raised and hand extended. His proper right hand rests on a conical standard enveloped by the American flag. His proper right leg and foot are forward, the foot extending over the base. McKinley wears a knee-length overcoat over a knee-length jacket. The sculpture is mounted upon a square, multitiered base of polished Stony Creek granite mounted on granite slabs, with bronze relief plaques depicting scenes in McKinley's life.

The plaque on the front shows McKinley addressing the House of Representatives on the McKinley Tariff Bill as others look on. He is in the foreground on the right, turned to his proper left, wearing a knee-length greatcoat, standing before a row of desks. The plaque on the east side of the base shows McKinley standing on the a balcony of the Capitol, giving his first inauguration speech. He is in the center, turned to his proper right, wearing a greatcoat with his proper right hand outstretched. Before him on the lower right, below a railing, are a group of people. Behind him on the left are a group of men, perhaps officials, two in top hats. The larger figure in the foreground on the far left wears a hat and a knee-length cape over a coat. In the background is a partial view of the Capitol. The plaque on the west side of the base depicts McKinley as a young commissary sergeant at the Battle of Antietam in 1862. It shows a battlefield scene, with young McKinley driving a commissary wagon pulled by a pair of horses, moving to the left.

Portrait male -- McKinley, William -- Full length

History -- United States -- Military history

History -- United States -- Civil War

Occupation -- Political -- President

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Ceremony -- Civic -- Inauguration

Architecture exterior -- Civic -- U.S. Capitol

Architecture exterior -- Civic -- Capitol

Architecture interior -- Civic -- U.S. Capitol

Architecture interior -- Civic -- Capitol

Architecture -- Military -- Battlefield

Architecture -- Vehicle -- Wagon

Object -- Other -- Flag

Animal -- Horse

Outdoor Sculpture -- Massachusetts -- Adams

Administered by Town of Adams, Department of Public Works, Cemetery Department, 65 Park Street, Adams, Massachusetts 01220

Located Junction of Park, Maple, & Columbia Streets, Adams, Massachusetts

The monument commemorates President William McKinley, and may also be a soldiers' memorial for the town of Adams. It was erected shortly after McKinley's assassination at a cost of about $10,000, raised through subscription and a donation from W. B. Plunkett. McKinley, a friend of the Plunkett family in Adams, had visited the city several times and had laid the cornerstone of the Memorial Public Library in 1897, in front of which the monument is sited. The site was given by Reverend L. O. Triganne, pastor, through Bishop Beaven of the Springfield Diocese, on behalf of the Catholic Church. Jno. Williams, Inc., cast the sculpture as well as the plaques on the base. The inscription on the rear base plaque came from a speech McKinley made at Buffalo.

IAS files contain articles from the North Adams Evening Transcript, Oct. 10, 1903, pg. 2, discussing the dedication; The Adams Freeman, Oct. 15, 1903, pg. 2; and the Berkshire Eagle, Feb. 2, 1978; an excerpt from Alfred S. Roe's "Monuments, Tablets, and Other Memorials Erected in Massachusetts to Commemorate the Services of Her Sons in the War of the Rebellion 1861-1865," Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Company, 1910, pg. 22-23; a commemorative booklet entitled "Unveiling of the McKinley Statue Adams, Ma" New York: Knickerbocker Press, pg. 11-13; and a copy of the Massachusetts Historical Commission Form C-Monuments.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Massachusetts survey, 1994.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, MA0158, 1989.

Monumental News, April, Nov. 1903.

The Berkshire Eagle, Feb. 2, 1978.

Monumental News, Nov. 1903, pg. 644.

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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