George Washington, (sculpture).

George Washington, (sculpture).

Ball, Thomas, 1819-1911, sculptor.

Ames Manufacturing Company, founder.

John Evans & Company, carver.

George Washington, (sculpture).

Commissioned 1859. Modeled 1864. Cast and dedicated 1869.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. 22 x 6 x 15 ft.; Base: approx. 16 x 8 x 15 ft.

(Proper right side, front of base:) AMES FOUNDRY CHICOPEE MASS. (Proper left side, front of base:) THOMAS BALL SCULPTOR BOSTON 1864 (Carved on right and left sides of base:) WASHINGTON signed Founder's mark appears.

Portrait of George Washington astride a horse.

Portrait male -- Washington, George -- Full length

Occupation -- Political -- President

Occupation -- Military -- General

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Outdoor Sculpture -- Massachusetts -- Boston

Administered by City of Boston, Boston Art Commission, Office of Cultural Affairs, Boston City Hall, Room 716, Boston, Massachusetts 02201

Located Boston Public Garden, West end, near Arlington Street gate, Boston, Massachusetts

Funding for the sculpture began with a "Washington Statue Fair" organized in November of 1859. The fair raised $10,000 toward the sculpture's total cost of $42,000. Public subscription funded all but $10,000, which was later contributed by the City of Boston. After delays caused by the Civil War and the artist's stay in Italy, the statue was finally dedicated in 1868. A plaster model resides in the Boston Athenaeum. In 1984, the statue was cleaned and restored through the combined efforts of the Society of Cincinnati, the City of Boston, and a private donor.

According to an article in the Daily Evening Transcript (Boston), July 6, 1869, 4:3, the contract for casting the statue was made with the Ames Manufacturing Company on Aug. 3, 1867. The article also notes that the pedestal was designed by Hammatt Billings, one of the original members of the statue committee. A notice in the Daily Evening Transcript (Boston), Jan. 8, 1869, 3:2 notes that Ames is at work on the equestrian figure.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Massachusetts survey, 1993.

Carlock, Marty, "A Guide to Public Art in Greater Boston: From Newburyport to Plymouth," Boston: The Harvard Common Press, rev. ed., 1993, pg. 42.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

Zoukee, Sophye M., "Adopt-A-Statue Casebook," Boston: City of Boston, 1990.

Boston Art Commission, 1991.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, MA0128, 1989.

Monumental News, July 1894, pg. 334.

Moore, Merl M., Jr., 1994.

The Round Table (Dec. 26, 1863): pg. 28.

Daily Evening Transcript (Boston), Jan. 8, 1869, 3:2.

Daily Evening Transcript (Boston), July 6, 1869, 4:3.

Zoukee, Sophye M., "Adopt-A-Statue Casebook," Boston: City of Boston, 1990, pg. 67.

Monumental News, July 1894, pg. 336.

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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