An
equestrian statue
An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a d ...
of
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
by
Thomas Ball is installed in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
's
Public Garden, in the
U.S. state of
.
Description and history
The sculpture was commissioned in 1859, modeled in 1864, and cast and dedicated in 1869. The
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
measures approximately 22 x 6 x 15 ft, and rests on a granite base that measures approximately 16 x 8 x 15 ft. It was surveyed by the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
's "
Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in 1993.
The monument was conceived in an effort to present Massachusetts as an artistic center. The chairman of the fundraising committee for the monument,
Alexander H. Rice
Alexander Hamilton Rice (August 30, 1818 – July 22, 1895) was an American politician and businessman from Massachusetts. He served as Mayor of Boston from 1856 to 1857, a U.S. Congressman during the American Civil War, and as the 30th G ...
, declared in a speech from 1859:
This statue shall exhibit the resources of our own State in the production of works of its class. The artist is a citizen of Boston; the statue will be modeled here; it will also be cast in bronze at some one of the foundries of Massachusetts, and it is expected that abundant funds for defraying its cost will flow from the generosity of our own people.
Over the years, the statue's sword has repeatedly been broken and stolen; to avoid continually recasting a bronze replacement, caretakers installed a fiberglass substitute.
See also
*
List of sculptures of presidents of the United States
This is a list of statues and busts of presidents of the United States.
George Washington
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
James Monroe
John Quincy Adams
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
William Henry Har ...
*
List of statues of George Washington
A list of statues of George Washington, an American Founding Father, commanding general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and the first U.S. president.
See also
* Mount Rushmore
* List of memorials to George Washing ...
References
External links
*
1860s sculptures
1869 establishments in Massachusetts
Boston Public Garden
Bronze sculptures in Massachusetts
Equestrian statues in Massachusetts
Granite sculptures in Massachusetts
Monuments and memorials in Boston
Monuments and memorials to George Washington in the United States
Outdoor sculptures in Boston
Sculptures of men in Massachusetts
Statues in Boston
Statues of George Washington
Vandalized works of art in Massachusetts
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