William Allen White, (sculpture).

William Allen White, (sculpture).

Davidson, Jo, 1883-1952, sculptor.

Delk, Edward Buehler, architect.

William Allen White, (sculpture).

1946. Dedicated July 11, 1950.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: dark green serpenteno marble.

Sculpture: approx. 35 x 33 x 29 in.; Base: approx. 48 x 33 1/2 x 25 1/2 in.

Jo Davidson (On front of base:) WILLIAM/ALLEN/WHITE 1868 1944 signed

A bust of William Allen White, dressed in suit coat, vest, shirt and tie. His hands rest on a book held at his proper left side. The sculpture has a blue-green patina. The bust is flanked by an exedra wall with two bronze plaques (6 x 4 ft.) bearing the famed Mary White editorial written by her father at the time of her death. The curved limestone exedra wall capped with Mansota cut stone which has a pinkish hue, and has limestone benches at either end. A decorative iron fence is across the front of the monument. Five stone steps lead up from the ground level to the Robinson flagstone floor.

Portrait male -- White, William Allen -- Waist length

Occupation -- Writer

Administered by City of Emporia, Park & Recreation Department, Emporia, Kansas 66801

Located Peter Pan Park, Randolph & Neosho streets, Emporia, Kansas 66801

The idea for a memorial to William Allen White originated in 1944, the year White died. The William Allen White Emporia Memorial Foundation first met Feb. 9, 1944, and in Nov. 1944 was incorporated. At least sixty individuals contributed funds for the sculpture. Davidson was commissioned to do the sculpture, and paid $10,000 towards the costs. Although the sculpture was exhibited on March 21, 1947, it was held in storage and not installed until three years later, pending fundraising for the memorial's setting, which was designed by Edward Buehler Delk.

IAS files contain articles from Emporia Gazette dated Dec. 5, 1945; Dec. 14, 1945; Aug. 26, 1946; March 10, 1947, March 17, 1947; March 20, 1947; March 29, 1947, and June 3, 1950, June 12, 1950 and July 12, 1950.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Kansas survey, 1994.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

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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