''Lewis Cass'' is an 1889
marble sculpture
Marble has been the preferred material for stone monumental sculpture since ancient times, with several advantages over its more common geological "parent" limestone, in particular the ability to absorb light a small distance into the surface be ...
by
Daniel Chester French
Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculptor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, best known for his 1874 sculpture ''The Minute Man'' in Concord, Massachusetts, and his 1920 monume ...
of the soldier, diplomat and politician that the state of Michigan donated as their first statue to the
National Statuary Hall Collection in
Washington, D.C., United States.
Description and history
French received the commission and decided to make the statue in
Paris. He dressed his figure, a "biography in stone", of the rather portly Cass in the swallow tailed coat popular in that time, and depicted him standing solidly with his weight evenly distributed on both legs. This stance was criticized in Paris as being an out-dated way to portray a subject, but French was more interested in the "benediction of approval" he received from American artist
George Peter Alexander Healy, who had been both a friend and the painter of a portrait of Cass.
When French was finished producing his clay statue he had it carved in marble in Paris, a task that would take a year, before executing the final touches himself and then having the finished work shipped to the United States. There it was unveiled in the
Capitol on February 18, 1889. At this event Michigan Senator
Thomas Witherell Palmer
Thomas Witherell Palmer (January 25, 1830 – June 1, 1913) was a U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan. He is considered to be one of the most significant figures in the history of Detroit, Michigan.
Palmer was born in Detroit, where his m ...
said of Cass that he knew of "no public man who has filled so many places in the economy of life-teacher, explorer, negotiator of treaties, governor, pioneer, lawyer, legislator, marshal, soldier, diplomat Secretary of War, Senator, Secretary of State".
On December 6, 2022, the
Michigan Legislature
The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ...
adopted a resolution, championed by State Senator
Adam Hollier
Adam Hollier is the director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency and was appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Hollier served in the Michigan Senate, representing the 2nd Senate district, serving Wayne County including Detroit, the Grosse Poin ...
, to replace the Cass statue in the National Statuary Hall with a statue of
Coleman Young
Coleman Alexander Young (May 24, 1918 – November 29, 1997) was an American politician who served as mayor of Detroit, Michigan, from 1974 to 1994. Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit.
Young had emerged from the far-left ele ...
, the first Black mayor of
Detroit.
See also
*
1889 in art
The year 1889 in art involved some significant events.
Events
* February 2 – Sixth annual exhibition of Les XX opens in Brussels, including the first important display of Paul Gauguin's work.
* May 6 – October 31 – Exposition Universelle ...
References
External links
*
{{Portal bar, Michigan, Visual arts, United States
1889 establishments in Washington, D.C.
1889 sculptures
Marble sculptures in Washington, D.C.
Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C.
Cass
Sculptures by Daniel Chester French
Sculptures of men in Washington, D.C.