STATUE OF GEN. GEORGE WASHINGTON

The most precious work of art in the United States is the life mask of George Washington by the noted French sculptor, Jean Antoine Houdon, who in 1785 was commissioned by the State of Virginia to execute a marble statue of George Washington. Houdon crossed the ocean, setting sail from Paris, France, on July 22 of that year for this purpose, in company with Benjamin Franklin. For 10 days he was a guest of General Washington at Mount Vernon, making studies and a cast. Having made his models, Houdon returned to France, reaching home on January 4, 1786. It took him two years to model and carve the statue, and the completed work arrived at Richmond in 1788. Eight years later the statue was installed in the rotunda of the State capitol, where it stands to-day. The statue represents Washington in the uniform of a Revolutionary officer; and, according to John Marshall, his intimate friend, this three-quarter view corresponds more to the exact likeness of Washington than any other portrait. A copy of this statue is in the Rotunda of the Capitol, the gift of the State of Virginia to the Nation. The life mask is at Mount Vernon.

TRIPOLI COLUMN

This was the first and only monument that stood in Washington for a period of 26 years. It was erected in memory of the heroes that fell before Tripoli in 1804. It had been made at the expense of officers of the Navy and was brought from Italy in the U. S. S. Constitution to the navy yard, where it was erected in 1808 under the direction of Benjamin H. Latrobe, Architect of the Capitol. Afterwards, when in 1814 the navy yard was burned by the British, it was placed at the west side of the Capitol. During the reconstruction and enlargement of the Capitol to its present size it was removed.

In November, 1860, it was taken to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, where it stands to-day.

The chief motif of the monument is an artistically designed, simple Doric column, surmounted by an eagle. It was procured through the efforts of Admiral Porter, who commissioned a noted Italian sculptor of the time, Micali, of Leghorn, to execute the monument.

STATUE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON

This statue is by Horatio Greenough, who, born in Boston in 1805, was a noted American sculptor of the early days of the Republic. He was the first American deliberately to choose sculpture as a profession and to go abroad for serious study. He became absorbed with art as he saw it in Italy, and those who have seen the massive Roman statuary of the Farnese collection at Naples, in addition to the priceless collections of statuary of classical times at Rome and Florence, can make due allowance for the conception of the ponderous figure of George Washington by Greenough when he was commissioned by Congress in 1832 to execute the statue. He was at work on the statue for eight years, during the period of the classical revival in this country, marked by the construction of the Patent Office, the old Post Office, and the Treasury Department Buildings.

The statue is 12 feet high, and of Carrara marble. It cost $44,000. After many perils by sea and land, it reached this city in 1843. At the Capitol it was found that the doors were not large enough to permit its passage, and they were temporarily widened to admit the statue, where it was given a place in the Rotunda, but its immense weight was too heavy for the floor, and it was transferred to the plaza in front of and facing the Capitol. It remained there for over half a century, and in 1908 was removed to the National Museum.

This statue of Washington in Roman toga, seated in a curule chair, was often ridiculed. One wrote that Washington was supposed to be saying, as he pointed in two directions, “My body is at Mount Vernon, my clothes are in the Patent Office.” Nevertheless, the statue had its friends. In 1841 Edward Everett wrote of it, “I regard Greenough’s Washington as one of the greatest works of sculpture of modern times.” It is an art treasure of the past, and as such is rightly cherished to-day.

STATUE OF GEN. ANDREW JACKSON

This statue in Lafayette Square, north of the White House, is the first equestrian statue cast in the United States. It is the work of Clark Mills, sculptor, who, while he was in the South preparing to go abroad, was persuaded to come to Washington and submit to Members of Congress sketches of an equestrian statue. They were so highly pleased with them that Mills was commissioned to produce the statue, and to do this he built a foundry in northeast Washington at a place now called Mills Avenue. The cost of the statue was $32,000. Congress appropriated $20,000 and the Jackson Democratic Association of Washington the balance. Congress also appropriated $8,000 for the pedestal. The statue was unveiled January 8, 1853, the thirty-eighth anniversary of Jackson’s victory at New Orleans. Stephen A. Douglas, then a United States Senator, delivered the oration.

Repeated attempts have been made in the past 25 years to relocate the statue, but without success. It has been suggested that it be placed at the north steps of the Treasury Department Building. Some years ago the suggestion was made to have the statue exchange places with the General Washington Statue in Washington Circle. It met with strong objection. To relocate the statue would require an act of Congress. However, the statue is regarded a landmark in the city, and, as heretofore stated, it is the first equestrian statue cast in the United States, having thus added historic interest.

ADAMS MEMORIAL

The Adams Memorial, a veiled female figure in bronze, by Saint-Gaudens, in Rock Creek Cemetery, was erected in 1891. Under the carpet of pine needles the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Adams are buried. There is no inscription; not even a date on the architectural features, designed by Stanford White. Thick planting of pines and shrubs completely secludes the monument. Friends of the sculptor deplore the fact that this, his masterpiece, has come to be known as the Statue of Grief, as such a title is wholly at variance with the artist’s conception. It is, in fact, a monument without a name, though the artist preferred the title, “The Peace of God.” The sculptor endeavored to comprise in the figure the thought of the philosophy of the ages—the great mystery of the human race and of history—that being called man and his destiny. It is a world-famous monument, and each year thousands of visitors to the National Capital gladly travel the 4 miles directly north of the Capitol to see it.

STATUE OF GENERAL LAFAYETTE

The statue of General Lafayette is situated on the southeast corner of Lafayette Square. It is a heroic bronze statue by Alexander Falguiere and Antoine Mercie, noted French sculptors. The statue stands on a marble pedestal, on the north side of which are two cherubs holding up the inscription:

BY THE CONGRESS IN COMMEMORATION OF THE SERVICES RENDERED BY GENERAL LAFAYETTE AND HIS COMPATRIOTS DURING THE STRUGGLE FOR THE INDEPENDENCE OF AMERICA

Congress appropriated $50,000 for the statue and pedestal, and it was completed in April, 1891. It is 45 feet high. On the east side are two heroic French naval figures, Comte d’Estaing (north) and Comte de Grasse (south), and an anchor. On the west side are two heroic French Army officers who served during the Revolution, Comte de Rochambeau (south) and Chevalier Duportail (north), and a mortar. On the south side of the pedestal is a figure symbolizing America, lifting up a sword to General Lafayette, with the inscription:

TO GENERAL LAFAYETTE AND HIS COMPATRIOTS, 1777-1783

There were no ceremonies of dedication, but the statue is annually the scene of ceremonies, including the presentation of a wreath by some patriotic organization, such as the Sons of the American Revolution, on Lafayette’s Birthday, September 6.

STATUE OF ALEXANDER R. SHEPHERD

The statue standing in front of the District Building, at Fourteenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW., was unveiled May 3, 1909. The cost of its erection, $10,192.67, was defrayed by public subscription in the city of Washington.

The statue is the work of U. S. J. Dunbar, sculptor. It perpetuates the memory of a man who in the face of great opposition accomplished wonders for the National Capital.

Mr. Shepherd, for the years 1873 and 1874, was Governor of the District of Columbia, and previous to that had been vice president and executive officer of the board of public works, which inaugurated a program for municipal improvement that led to the transformation of the city in that day, as has been heretofore described. Driven from the city, he went to Mexico and accumulated a fortune, returning later to Washington. His tomb is in Rock Creek Cemetery, not far from the famous Adams Memorial.

STATUE OF HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

This bronze statue is situated at the intersection of Eighteenth Street and Connecticut Avenue, at M Street NW., in one of the many triangular reservations that are so numerous in Washington and which, in addition to furnishing sites for monuments, help to make the city so attractive. It was presented to the National Capital by the Longfellow Memorial Association and unveiled May 15, 1909. Congress appropriated $4,000 for the pedestal and furnished the site. The pedestal is of Milford pink granite, polished. The statue is the work of William Couper, sculptor. Longfellow, in academic gown, is seated.

STATUE OF JOHN WITHERSPOON

This statue stands in front of the Church of the Covenant, on Connecticut Avenue, near that of Longfellow. Congress provided the site and pedestal at a cost of $4,000. It is the work of William Couper, sculptor. It was presented to the United States by the Witherspoon Memorial Association, and unveiled May 20, 1909.

John Witherspoon was a Presbyterian clergyman, at one time president of what is now Princeton University, and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, the only clergyman among the signers of that famous document.

On the north side of the pedestal is a quotation from Witherspoon, made during the War for Independence, as follows:

FOR MY OWN PART, OF PROPERTY I HAVE SOME, OF REPUTATION MORE. THAT REPUTATION IS STAKED, THAT PROPERTY IS PLEDGED ON THE ISSUE OF THIS CONTEST, AND ALTHOUGH THESE GREY HAIRS MUST SOON DESCEND INTO THE SEPULCHRE, I WOULD INFINITELY RATHER THAT THEY DESCEND THITHER BY THE HAND OF THE EXECUTIONER THAN DESERT AT THIS CRISIS THE SACRED CAUSE OF MY COUNTRY

MEMORIAL OF THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC TO DR. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN STEPHENSON

This memorial was presented to the United States by the Grand Army of the Republic, in commemoration of Dr. Benjamin Franklin Stephenson, organizer and founder of the Grand Army of the Republic, and stands near Pennsylvania Avenue at Seventh Street NW.

The monument is a solid granite shaft, in form a triangular pyramid. The bronze figures represent three great principles. Fraternity, symbolized by a soldier and a sailor, is on the west side. Over the group is the inscription:

1861-1865

Underneath is a bronze medallion of Doctor Stephenson, also the badge of the Grand Army of the Republic, obverse and reverse being shown, and the inscription:

GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC, ORGANIZED AT DECATUR, ILLINOIS, APRIL 6, 1866, BY BENJAMIN FRANKLIN STEPHENSON, M. D.

On the southeast side of the shaft is a female figure representing Loyalty, holding a shield and drawn sword, and an inscription:

WHO KNEW NO GLORY BUT HIS COUNTRY’S GOOD

On the northeast side Charity is represented by a woman protecting a child, with the inscription:

THE GREATEST OF THESE IS CHARITY

The monument cost $45,000, of which $10,000 was appropriated by Congress for the pedestal, by act of March 4, 1907. It is the work of J. Massey Rhind, sculptor. The monument was unveiled July 3, 1909, during the administration of President Taft, who delivered an address on the occasion.

STATUE OF GEN. CASIMIR PULASKI

The Pulaski monument, completed in 1910, and dedicated May 11, 1910, the same day as was the Kosciuszko monument, is an equestrian by Kasimiriez Chodzinski, sculptor, and stands on Pennsylvania Avenue, at Thirteenth Street NW. It cost $55,000, which was appropriated by Congress.

The monument represents General Pulaski in his military uniform seated on his horse “in action.” The pedestal, which is 9 feet high, is by Albert R. Ross, architect. It rests on a large platform, measuring 20 by 16 feet. The equestrian, with its pedestal, is one of the best in the city.

ZERO MILESTONE

The Zero Milestone takes the place of the itinerary column planned by L’Enfant for a place 1 mile east of the Capitol, “from which all distances of places through the continent were to be calculated.” That column never was built.

The Zero Milestone is immediately south of the White House grounds. It is a block of granite 4 feet high with a bronze compass design on top, and stands on the meridian of the District of Columbia. The monument shows on the street side the designation Zero Milestone, with the insignia of the Motor Transport Corps, U. S. Army. The inscriptions on the other three sides show that it constitutes a point from which distances may be measured on highways of the United States radiating from Washington, and that it was the starting point of the transcontinental motor-transport convoys over the Lincoln and the Bankhead Highways in 1919 and 1920, respectively. The monument was authorized by act of Congress approved June 5, 1920. It was designed by Horace W. Peaslee, architect, of Washington.

DUPONT MEMORIAL

The Dupont Memorial Fountain, at Dupont Circle, was designed by Daniel Chester French, sculptor, and Henry Bacon, architect. The fountain was dedicated on May 17, 1921, and cost $100,000. It replaces a portrait statue of Admiral Dupont. The top bowl, in one piece, is 13 feet in diameter.

There are three figures on the supporting column of the fountain, representing The Sea, The Wind, and The Stars. The picture used in this book shows the figure typifying The Sea. The fountain is of Georgia marble.

STATUE OF JEANNE D’ARC

This statue, a copy of the celebrated Paul Dubois statue, one of the masterpieces of modern art standing in front of Rheims Cathedral, is situated on the grand terrace of Meridian Hill Park.

The statue is not large, measuring in length 10 feet and in height 9 feet. The pedestal is about 6 feet high. The casting was done under the direction of the Ministère des Beaux Arts, in Paris. The pedestal was designed by McKim, Mead & White, architects, of New York City.

Congress authorized the erection of the statue on public grounds in the National Capital, and the Commission of Fine Arts advised in the matter of location and design of the pedestal.

In May, 1916, the commission received a communication from Mme. Carlo Polifeme, President Fondatrice, Le Lyceum Société des Femmes de France à New York, to this effect:

The President and his excellency the French ambassador attended the unveiling, which took place on January 6, 1922, the five hundred and tenth anniversary of the birth of Jeanne d’Arc.

The life of Jeanne d’Arc has been eulogized by the greatest of writers, and to-day she is revered as one of the world’s great liberators. Her spirit of patriotism and devotion has thrilled the ages.

STATUE OF DANTE

The statue of Dante, standing in Meridian Hill Park, was given to the National Capital by Chevalier Carlo Barsotti, editor of Il Progresso Italo-Americano, in behalf of the Italians of the United States in commemoration of the six hundredth anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri, and unveiled on December 1, 1921. It is in bronze, 12 feet high, and is the work of Commendatore Ettore Ximenes, sculptor, of Rome. The artist has represented Dante in the gown of a scholar and crowned with a laurel wreath.

The statue received an appropriate landscape setting upon the completion of the lower garden of Meridian Hill Park.

GEN. U. S. GRANT MEMORIAL

The Grant Memorial, situated at the head of the Mall, in Union Square, near the Capitol, was authorized by Congress in 1901, at a cost of $250,000, the largest expenditure for statuary ever made by this Government. It is said to be the second largest equestrian statue in the world, being exceeded only by the Victor Emmanuel in Rome, which is less than one-half foot higher.

The monument consists of a marble platform 252 feet in length and 69 feet at its greatest width, with steps on each side. In the center is a pedestal 22 feet 6 inches high, on the top of which is a monumental bronze figure of General Grant on horseback watching a battle. The horse is 17 feet 6 inches high, two and one-half times life-size; the monument is nearly 40 feet high. The top of General Grant’s army hat is 65 feet above the platform. The weight of the statue is 10,500 pounds.

The infantry is represented by two bronze tablets at each side of the pedestal.

On the platform at the right a cavalry charge is in progress. There are seven horses in the group.

On the platform at the left a battery of artillery is going into action. There are five horses and four soldiers in this group.

In these groups the sculptor has given particular attention to portraying the army equipment of the period.

Four great bronze lions are at each corner of the main pedestal, guarding the flag. For the inscription the memorial has the single word “Grant.”

The monument was cast by the Roman Bronze Works, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and was dedicated April 27, 1922. Edward Pearce Casey was the architect. The sculptor, Henry Merwin Shrady, died on April 12, a few days before the dedication. The monument represents his most notable work.

STATUE OF EDMUND BURKE

The statue of the eloquent defender of the rights of the American Colonies in the British Parliament is situated in a triangle at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Eleventh Street NW. It is a copy of the statue at Bristol, England, which city Burke represented in Parliament. It was designed by the late Havard Thomas, and is an excellent example of the work of one of the celebrated English sculptors of recent times. The statue was given by Sir Charles Cheers Wakefield, Bart., through the Sulgrave Institution. The pedestal was designed by Horace W. Peaslee, architect, of Washington. The statue was unveiled October 12, 1922, and accepted on the part of the United States by the late Hon. John W. Weeks, Secretary of War.

STATUE OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON

This statue in bronze, about 9 feet in height, is on the south steps of the Treasury Department Building. James E. Fraser is the sculptor. The pedestal is of pink Milford granite and was designed by Henry Bacon, architect.

If Alexander Hamilton, who was the first Secretary of the Treasury, waited for more than a century to obtain representation in a capital in part located through his sagacity and for the building of the department his genius created, at least the result was well worth the delay. By common consent the standing bronze figure of Hamilton, dressed in a typical colonial costume, is notable for virility and charm. It was unveiled May 17, 1923.