General Artemas Ward, (sculpture).

General Artemas Ward, (sculpture).

Crunelle, Leonard, 1872-1944, sculptor.

General Artemas Ward, (sculpture).

Artemas Ward, (sculpture).

Modeled 1936. Dedicated Nov. 3, 1938.

Sculpture: bronze.

Sculpture: approx. 10 x 5 x 4 ft.; Base: approx. 10 x 5 x 4 ft..

(Front of base:) ARTEMAS WARD/1727-1800/SON OF MASSACHUSETTS/GRADUATE OF HARVARD COLLEGE/JUDGE AND LEGISLATOR/DELEGATE 1780-1781/TO THE/CONTINENTAL CONGRESS/SOLDIER OF THREE WARS/FIRST COMMANDER/OF THE PATRIOT FORCES

Standing portrait of Ward dressed in his Continental Army uniform consisting of a double-breasted coat, buttoned vest, high boots, and a long cape. He carries his three-cornered hat and gloves in the crook of his proper left arm. The handle of his sword is barely visible beneath his proper left arm. His proper left foot is slightly forward as he walks staring straight ahead. A cannon ball is just to the left of his proper left foot. The sculpture rests on top of a tall square base.

Portrait male -- Ward, Artemas -- Full length

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Occupation -- Military -- General

Occupation -- Law -- Judge

Occupation -- Political -- Governor

Occupation -- Political -- Congressman

Outdoor Sculpture -- District of Columbia -- Washington

Administered by United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, District of Columbia

Located Ward Circle, Massachusetts & Nebraska Avenues, N. W., Washington, District of Columbia

General Artemas Ward (1727-1800) was an officer in the French and Indian Wars who went on to become governor of Massachusetts. In 1775, he resigned as governor and became commander of the Massachusetts troops leading them in the siege of British-held Boston during the Revolutionary War. He was later made a major general by George Washington, but due to poor health he resigned his commission and took part in Massachusetts politics. He served in the Continental Congress and later the national Congress. This Artemas Ward, born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts in 1727 and died there in 1800, is not to be confused with Artemas Ward the humorist whose real name was Charles Farrar Browne, born in Waterford, Maine 1834 and died in England in 1867.

The sculpture was funded in 1927 by a gift of $50,000 from a Harvard alumnus. Because the price of bronze rose so dramatically just before World War II, sufficient funds were not available to make a much larger equestrian memorial. Ward circle was specially constructed for the sculpture. The artist, Leonard Crunelle, modeled his portrait after an oil painting of Ward by Charles Willson Peale. Crunelle also used the military cape actually worn by Ward as a model. IAS files contain related articles from the Washington Star, Jan. 9, 1938, pg. F-5; Oct. 21, 1938; and Nov. 13, 1938. The Washington Star, Jan. 9, 1938 article includes a photo of the sculpture before its installation.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 310.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1993.

Michael Richman, SAAM curatorial assistant, 1967-1969.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, H-31.

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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