Founding of Nashville, (sculpture).

Founding of Nashville, (sculpture).

Mims, Puryear, 1906-1975, sculptor.

Founding of Nashville, (sculpture).

Commissioned 1962.

Digital Reference:

Copper on a marble slab base.

Sculpture: approx. 94 x 94 x 73 in.; Upper base: approx. 36 x 112 x 48 in.; Lower base: approx. 17 1/2 x 146 x 66 in.

(On plaque on plinth:) JAMES ROBERTSON (On another plaque on plinth:) JOHN DONELSON (On plaque on base:) THE FOUNDING OF NASHVILLE/(Text describing the history of the founding of Nashville with the names of the signers of the Cumberland Pact on May 13, 1780.) unsigned

A depiction of the founders of Nashville, James Robertson and John Donelson shaking hands. The figures are heroic in size and are dressed in buckskins. One of the figures has an ax over his proper left shoulder. The other figure holds a rifle in his proper left hand with the butt of the gun resting on the plinth at his feet. The copper sculpture rests on a copper plinth on a two-tiered base of marble slabs.

History -- United States -- Westward Expansion

History -- United States -- Tennessee

Portrait male -- Donelson, John -- Full length

Portrait male -- Robertson, James -- Full length

Object -- Tool -- Axe

Object -- Weapon -- Gun

Outdoor Sculpture -- Tennessee -- Nashville

Administered by Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, Board of Parks & Recreation, First Avenue, Riverfront Park, Nashville, Tennessee

Located Riverfront Park, Fort Nashborough, on banks of Cumberland River, Nashville, Tennessee

This sculpture was commissioned by Mayor Ben West in 1962 and was presented by the Metro Historical Commission in observance of Nashville's Century III Celebration on May 13, 1980. Sculpture was formerly located inside the fort at Fort Nashborough.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Tennessee survey, 1992.

Holder, Philancy, "Thomas Puryear Mims," Nashville: Tennessee Botanical Gardens and Fine Arts Center, 1977.

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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