''George Washington'' is a statue by the French sculptor
Jean-Antoine Houdon
Jean-Antoine Houdon (; 20 March 1741 – 15 July 1828) was a French neoclassical sculptor.
Houdon is famous for his portrait busts and statues of philosophers, inventors and political figures of the Enlightenment. Houdon's subjects included De ...
from the late 18th century. Based on a
life mask
A death mask is a likeness (typically in wax or plaster cast) of a person's face after their death, usually made by taking a cast or impression from the corpse. Death masks may be mementos of the dead, or be used for creation of portraits. It ...
and other measurements 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 ...
taken by Houdon, it is considered one of the most accurate depictions of the subject. The original sculpture is located in the rotunda of the
Virginia State Capitol
The Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government of the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Richmond, the third capital city of the U.S. state of Virginia. (The first two were Jamestown and Williamsburg.) It houses the oldest elected ...
in
Richmond, Virginia, and has been copied extensively.
The date given for the sculpture varies. It was commissioned by the
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...
in 1784, begun in 1785, signed "1788", completed in 1791 or 1792, and delivered in 1796.
Description
The original statue is carved from
Carrara marble
Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...
, weighing 18 tons. It depicts a standing life-sized Washington. In his right hand is a cane, his left arm rests on a
fasces on which is slung his cape and sword, and at the back is a plow.
He is shown wearing his military uniform, as Washington wished to be depicted in contemporary attire, rather than that of antiquity popular in
Neo-classical sculpture.
With its selection of objects both civilian (the plow and cane) and military (the fasces, sword, and uniform), the statue has been interpreted as invoking the imagery and ideal of an Ancient
Roman dictator
A Roman dictator was an extraordinary magistrate in the Roman Republic endowed with full authority to resolve some specific problem to which he had been assigned. He received the full powers of the state, subordinating the other magistrates, con ...
,
Cincinnatus
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus ( – ) was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic who became a legendary figure of Roman virtue—particularly civic virtue—by the time of the late Republic.
Cincinnatus ...
, with whom Washington has been compared in his decision to retire from public life following the
Revolutionary War.
Washington was elected president of
The Society of the Cincinnati
The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...
in 1783. At the time of the statue's commission, Washington had not yet served in the
Constitutional Convention and would not become President of the United States until 1789.
Chief Justice John Marshall
''Chief Justice John Marshall'' is a bronze sculpture of John Marshall, by American sculptor William Wetmore Story. It is located at the Supreme Court, 1 First Street, Northeast, Washington, D.C. It was dedicated on May 10, 1884, by Morrison Wa ...
, a contemporary of Washington's said of the work, "Nothing in bronze or stone could be a more perfect image than this statue of the living Washington."
Houdon original
In 1784, the
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...
commissioned a statue of George Washington "to be of the finest marble and the best workmanship," necessitating a European craftsman. The Governor of Virginia gave the responsibility of selecting the artist to
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...
, then ambassador to France, who together with
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
recommended that Jean-Antoine Houdon, the most famous sculptor of the day, execute the work.
Unsatisfied to work from a drawing of Washington by
Charles Willson Peale
Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American Painting, painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolu ...
sent for the project, and lured by a potential commission for an equestrian monument by the
Congress of the Confederation, Houdon agreed to travel to the United States to work directly from Washington.
His voyage was conditional on his life being
insured
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
for the trip, asking "that ten thousand
livres
The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France.
The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...
be paid to his family should he die during the voyage".
On July 28, 1785, (or, July 22, 1785
[Chinard, Gilbert, editor, ‘’Houdon in America’’, Arno Press, New York, 1979 p. viii]) Houdon sailed with Benjamin Franklin and "two of his workmen"
from Southampton, England, arriving in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 14.
In early October 1785, Houdon along with three assistants stayed at Washington's plantation
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
, taking detailed measurements of Washington's arms, legs, hands and chest and making a life mask of his face. By December, Houdon had returned to France.
Though inscribed with the date "1788", it was completed in France in 1791 or 1792 (depending on the source). It was finally delivered to Richmond in 1796 and placed in the rotunda on May 14, 1796. Various explanations for the delay in its delivery have been given, including the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
and untimely payments to Houdon, though most sources agree that the continued construction of the new Virginia State Capitol prevented its installation until the time it arrived.
The equestrian monument that originally attracted Houdon to America was never commissioned. The 1783 resolution authorizing such a statue would eventually be fulfilled in 1860 when
Clark Mills's
equestrian statue of George Washington was installed at
Washington Circle
Washington Circle is a traffic circle in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., United States. It is located on the border of the Foggy Bottom and West End neighborhoods, which is a part of the Ward 2 section in Washington. It is the inte ...
.
In the early 21st century the statue, together with the life mask and bust created by Houdon during the design process, were used as part of a forensic reconstruction of George Washington at various ages undertaken by Mount Vernon.
Copies
Beginning in the 19th century, numerous copies of the statue have been made in bronze and plaster, with molds often made directly from the original.
Hubard casts
Following the destruction of a
statue of Washington created by
Antonio Canova when the
North Carolina State House
The North Carolina State House was built from 1792 to 1796 as the state capitol for North Carolina. It was located at Union Square in the state capital, Raleigh, in Wake County. The building was extensively renovated in the neoclassical style by ...
burned in 1831, there was a fear that a similar fate might befall Houdon's statue.
During the 1850s, the Virginia General Assembly authorized the casting of 11 bronze copies of the monument. Six bronzes were produced by the foundry of Richmond artist
William James Hubard. Known casts from the Hubard foundry are located at:
*
Virginia Military Institute
la, Consilio et Animis (on seal)
, mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal)
, established =
, type = Public senior military college
, accreditation = SACS
, endowment = $696.8 mill ...
in
Lexington, Virginia, unveiled in 1856. After the occupation of Lexington in the American Civil War, it was temporarily relocated to Wheeling, West Virginia, and returned in 1866.
*
North Carolina State Capitol
The North Carolina State Capitol is the former seat of the legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina which housed all of the state's government until 1888. The Supreme Court and State Library moved into a separate building in 1888, and the ...
, in 1857. It was the first monument placed on the new capitol's grounds, designed to replace the destroyed Canova statue.
*
South Carolina State House
The South Carolina State House is the building housing the government of the U.S. state of South Carolina, which includes the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Located in th ...
grounds in
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...
, 1853, and installed in 1858
* Another traveled around a bit, finally finding a home in
Lafayette Park,
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
in 1914
* Rotunda of
Alumni Hall at
Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...
,
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...
*
New York City Hall, cast 1857, purchased 1884
A plaster cast by Hubard, once located in the U.S. Capitol, was moved in 1950 to the
Smithsonian American Art Museum, and in 2007 transferred to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation in Virginia.
File:George Washington by Hubard after Houdon, VMI, Lexingon, VA.jpg, ''George Washington'' cast by Hubard, at the Virginia Military Institute
la, Consilio et Animis (on seal)
, mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal)
, established =
, type = Public senior military college
, accreditation = SACS
, endowment = $696.8 mill ...
File:George Washington by Jean-Antoine Houdon - DSC05827.JPG, At the North Carolina State Capitol
The North Carolina State Capitol is the former seat of the legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina which housed all of the state's government until 1888. The Supreme Court and State Library moved into a separate building in 1888, and the ...
Gorham casts
In the early 20th century (1908 or 1909), the Commonwealth of Virginia commissioned a new cast to be added to the
National Statuary Hall Collection
The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old ...
. It is now one of six state statues located in the
United States Capitol rotunda
The United States Capitol rotunda is the tall central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It has been described as the Capitol's "symbolic and physical heart". Built between 1818 and 1824, the rotunda is located below the ...
in Washington, D.C.
In 1910 an act of the general Assembly of Virginia stated, "That the permission and authority of the State of Virginia be .... granted to the
Gorham Manufacturing Company
The Gorham Manufacturing Company is one of the largest United States of America, American manufacturers of Sterling silver, sterling and silverplate and a foundry for bronze sculpture.
History
Gorham Silver was founded in Providence, Rhode Isl ...
.... to make further copies or reproductions of the Houdon statue of George Washington from the molds now in possession of said company... belonging to the State of Virginia, for any National, State, Territorial, County of Municipal Government ...... for any university, college, school, library, art gallery, or other educational institution: for any patriotic society ..... related to the history and achievements of George Washington." Each copy was to be stamped with the great seal of Virginia and the phrase, "Copied from the original by Houdon..." Gorham was to pay the state $500 for every statue made. The Virginia legislature banned future taking of molds, and so the subsequent casts were made from existing molds.
File:Houdon's Washington in Philadelphia.jpg, Gorham cast in Philadelphia
File:George Washington by Gorham after Houdon, Valley Forge, PA.jpg, In the Valley Forge National Park
File:George Washington Statue Inside Washington Monument.JPG, Inside the Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and th ...
The known locations of the Gorham casts include:
* In 1910, the Virginia General Assembly presented a bronze copy to the people of France using the Gorham molds.
*
Springfield, Massachusetts
* Jefferson Memorial Park,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
, 1910
*
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 1911
*
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
, Charlottesville, Virginia, dedicated 1913
* The
Art Institute of Chicago, 1917, originally placed in front of the museum, but in 1979 moved indoors, and presently in the
Chicago City Hall
Chicago City Hall is a 10-story building that houses the official seat of government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. Adjacent to the Richard J. Daley Center and the James R. Thompson Center, the building that includes Chicago City Hall ho ...
*
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...
in London, 1921
*
Lima, Peru, dedicated July 4, 1922
*
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, 1922, first given to the
Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1922 and then moved to
Washington Square in 1954
*
National Heritage Museum,
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was firs ...
; cast 1924
Further copies were produced for the bicentennial of Washington's birth, and are located in:
* Fair Oaks Park,
Minneapolis, Minnesota, donated 1931, dedicated 1932, obtained by a local branch of the
DAR, and toppled in November 2020.
*
Valley Forge National Historical Park
Valley Forge National Historical Park is the site of the third winter encampment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, taking place from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. The National Park Service preserves the site a ...
, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
*
Civic Center
A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...
Plaza,
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
; cast and presented 1933
*
City College of New York, 1931
*
Redwood Library and Athenaeum, Newport, Rhode Island. Dedicated 1932
*
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...
, dedicated 1932
* the quad at
George Washington University
The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...
, 1932
*
Maxwell School
Maxwell School ( ms, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Maxwell) is an all-boys secondary school, located north of Kuala Lumpur. The school is believed to be the oldest school in north of Kuala Lumpur as well as one of the oldest in Kuala Lumpur an ...
foyer at
Syracuse University, 1937
Other casts
Since the Gorham castings, a few additional ones have been made:
*
John M. Olin Library on the campus of
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
, St. Louis, MO, cast 2004
*
Larz Anderson House
Anderson House, also known as Larz Anderson House, is a Gilded Age mansion located at 2118 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, on Embassy Row in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It now houses the Society of the Cincinnati's internation ...
, headquarters of the
Society of the Cincinnati, Washington, D.C., cast 2008
In addition to bronze castings, an unknown number of plaster casts were made, including
one from 1932 on display in the
Indiana Statehouse
The Indiana Statehouse is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of Indiana. It houses the Indiana General Assembly, the office of the Governor of Indiana, the Indiana Supreme Court, and other state officials. The Statehouse is located in ...
in Indianapolis, Indiana,
and one in George Washington Hall of the
University of Mary Washington
The University of Mary Washington (UMW) is a public liberal arts university in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the Fredericksburg Teachers College, the institution was named Mary Washington College in 1938 after Mary Ball Washi ...
in Fredericksburg, Virginia of unknown make, dating to the 1930s.
See also
*
List of monuments dedicated to George Washington
This is a list of memorials to George Washington, the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and first president of the United States.
Federal holiday
Washington's Birthday has been a federal holiday in ...
*
List of public art in Washington, D.C., Ward 2
References
External links
*
{{National Statuary Hall Collection
1792 sculptures
1932 sculptures
Bronze sculptures in Virginia
Statues of George Washington
Statues in Virginia
Sculptures of men in Virginia
Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C.
Washington, George
Monuments and memorials to George Washington in the United States
Buildings and monuments honouring American presidents in the United Kingdom