Robert A. Taft Memorial, (sculpture).

Robert A. Taft Memorial, (sculpture).

Williams, Wheeler, 1897-1972, sculptor.

Orr, Douglas W., architect.

Paccard Bell Foundry, founder.

Modern Art Foundry, founder.

Robert A. Taft Memorial, (sculpture).

1958. Dedicated April 14, 1959.

Figure: bronze; Base: red granite; Tower: Tennessee marble.

Figure: approx. 12 x 3 1/2 x 2 ft.; Base: approx. 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3 ft.; Tower: approx. 100 x 32 x 11 ft.

WHEELER Williams (On tower, behind figure:) THIS MEMORIAL TO ROBERT A. TAFT, PRESENTED BY THE PEOPLE TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, STANDS AS TRIBUTE TO THE HONESTY, INDOMITABLE COURAGE AND HIGH PRINCIPLES OF FREE GOVERNMENT SYMBOLIZED BY HIS LIFE. signed

A bronze statue of Taft stands on a square base at the foot of a 100 foot high bell tower. Taft stands dressed in a suit with his proper right hand at his waist and his proper left hand hanging from the proper left pocket of his trousers. In the upper part of the tower there are 27 bells; at the bottom of the tower there are jets of water which pour into a basin at the bottom of the tower.

Portrait male -- Taft, Robert Alphonso -- Full length

Occupation -- Political -- Senator

Outdoor Sculpture -- District of Columbia -- Washington

Administered by United States Capitol, Architect of the Capitol, Washington, District of Columbia

Located United States Capitol, Between Constitution, New Jersey & Louisiana Avenues, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia 20201

Robert Alphonso Taft (1889-1953) was the oldest son of the twenty-seventh president of the U.S., William Howard Taft. He was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives and served as its speaker from 1921-1926. In 1932 he was elected senator. He was a Republican and a adversary of Franklin Roosevelt and his New Deal programs. The 27 bells in the twoer were cast by the Paccard Bell Foundry in Annecy , France.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985

"Compilation of Works of Art and Other Objects in the United States Capitol," the Architect of the Capitol, 1965.

Architect of the Capitol, "Art in the United States Capitol," Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1976.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 47.

Smithsonian Institution Research Expeditions Volunteer Project, 1991.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1994.

Michael Richman, SAAM curatorial assistant, 1967-1969.

Goode, James M., "Washington Sculpture: A Cultural History of Outdoor Sculpture in the Nation's Capitol," Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, no. 1.5.

"Compilation of Works of Art and Other Objects in the United States Capitol," the Architect of the Capitol, 1965, pg. 382.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, A-4.

Goode, James M., "Washington Sculpture: A Cultural History of Outdoor Sculpture in the Nation's Capitol," Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, no. 1.5.

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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