Monument to Benjamin Bangs Jr. (sculpture).

Monument to Benjamin Bangs Jr. (sculpture).

Unknown, sculptor.

Monument to Benjamin Bangs Jr. (sculpture).

Sculpture: marble; Base: granite.

Approx. H. 11 ft.

A female figure, representing Hope, stands with her hands pressed against her chest holding the chain of an anchor that rests by her right foot, along with a Bible. Her long gown appears to be blown back by the wind, suggesting a figurehead of a ship.

Homage -- Bangs, Benjamin, Jr.

Homage -- Bangs, Sophia Nye

Figure female -- Full length

Allegory -- Quality -- Hope

Outdoor Sculpture -- Massachusetts -- Boston

Forest Hills Cemetery, 95 Forest Hills Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02130

Benjamin Bangs, Jr. (1763-1860) was a shipowner and prominent merchant with a business at Lewis Wharf in Boston. His wife was Sophia Nye Bangs (1786-1848). The sculpture was carved in Italy probably after a wooden model by a Massachusetts wood carver (possibly Alfred Nye, who was active in Boston 1847-1871). Its current granite pedestal and base replaced what was probably an original marble pedestal when nearby granite headstones were carved for other members of the Bangs family a decade or so after the monument was built.

Antiques (Nov. 1998): pg. 697-703.

Antiques (Nov. 1998): pg. 701.

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

Control Number:

Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382

Powered by SirsiDynix

About | © 2020 Smithsonian | Terms of Use | Privacy | Contact

SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System