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  • Houdon, Jean Antoine,
     
  •  
  • Gorham Manufacturing Company,
     
  •  
  • Portrait male -- Washington, George
     
  •  
  • Occupation -- Political
     
  •  
  • Occupation -- Military
     
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  • Outdoor Sculpture -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
     
  •  
  • Sculpture
     
     
    George Washington, (sculpture).
    Artist: 
    Houdon, Jean Antoine, 1741-1828, sculptor.
    Gorham Manufacturing Company, founder.
    Title: 
    George Washington, (sculpture).
    Other Titles: 
    Revolutionary War Memorial, (sculpture).
    Dates: 
    Original marble ca. 1790. Cast ca. 1922. Installed 1954.
    Digital Reference: 
    Image Image
    Medium: 
    Bronze; Base: granite.
    Dimensions: 
    Sculpture: approx. 9 ft. x 39 in. x 32 in.; Base: approx. 33 x 48 1/2 x 39 1/2 in.
    Inscription: 
    Gorham Co. New York (Sculpture, front near base:) GEORGE WASHINGTON (Base, left side:) Copied from the original by Houdon in the/State Capitol at Richmond by special permission/of the General Assembly of Virginia. (Virginia state seal) (Base, right side:) Par Houdon Citoyen francais 1786/In memory of John McIlhenny signed founder's mark appears.
    Description: 
    Washington standing in military uniform, next to a pillar. His jacket is draped over the pillar and his proper left hand rests on top. His proper right hand holds a stick with a tassel. The sculpture rests on a square base on a stepped plaza in front of an inscribed wall.
    Subject: 
    Portrait male -- Washington, George -- Full length
    Occupation -- Political -- President
    Occupation -- Military -- General
    Object Type: 
    Outdoor Sculpture -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
    Sculpture
    Owner: 
    Administered by United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, District of Columbia
    Administered by Independence National Historical Park, 313 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106
    Administered by City of Philadelphia, Fairmount Park Commission, Memorial Hall, West Park, P. O. Box 21601, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19131
    Located Washington Square, Walnut Street between 6th & 7th streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    Provenance: 
    Formerly in the collection of Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19130 1922-March 1954.
    Remarks: 
    The original marble was done ca. 1790 and is located in the Virginia State House in Richmond, Virginia. This bronze cast made in 1922 was a gift to the Philadelphia Museum of Art from John D. McIlhenny. Later, in March 1954, it was given to the Fairmount Park Commission. According to the SOS! survey, the piece is administered by both the Fairmount Park Commission and Independence National Historic Park. Inscription on the wall behind the sculpture reads: FREEDOM IS A LIGHT/FOR WHICH MANY MEN HAVE DIED IN DARKNESS/IN UNMARKED GRAVES WITHIN/THIS SQUARE LIE THOUSANDS/OF UNKNOWN SOLDIERS OF/WASHINGTON'S ARMY WHO DIED/OF WOUNDS AND SICKNESS DURING/THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR/THE INDEPENDENCE AND LIBERTY/YOU POSSESS ARE THE WORK OF/JOINT COUNCILS AND JOINT/EFFORTS OF COMMON DANGERS/SUFFERINGS AND SUCCESS/WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS - SEPTEMBER 17, 1796
    References: 
    Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985
    City of Philadelphia, 1973.
    Fairmount Park Art Assoc., "Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze & Stone," NY: Walker Publ., 1974, pg. 28.
    Bach, Penny Balkin, "Public Art in Philadelphia," Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992, pg. 191.
    Save Outdoor Sculpture, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia survey, 1993.
    Illustration: 
    Image on file.
    Fairmount Park Art Assoc., "Sculpture of a City: Philadelphia's Treasures in Bronze & Stone," NY: Walker Publ., 1974, pg. 28.
    Note: 
    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.
    Repository: 
    Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
    Control Number: 
    IAS 75009328
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    Smithsonian AmericanArt MuseumControl Number 
    Inventory of American Sculpture75009328Add Copy to MyList

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