Francis Asbury | |
Location | 3025 Mt. Pleasant St. NW, Washington, D.C. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°55′39″N77°2′12″W / 38.92750°N 77.03667°W Coordinates: 38°55′39″N77°2′12″W / 38.92750°N 77.03667°W |
Built | 1924 |
Architect | Henry Augustus Lukeman |
NRHP reference No. | 07001052 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 11, 2007 [2] |
Designated DCIHS | February 22, 2007 |
Francis Asbury, also known as the Francis Asbury Memorial, is a public equestrian statue, by American artist Augustus Lukeman, located at 16th Street and Mt. Pleasant Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.
It was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! survey in 1994.
This bronze sculpture features Francis Asbury seated upon his horse wearing a cape and hat. In his proper right hand he holds a bible. The horse is bending its head down to lick its left leg. The sculpture sits on a granite base (approx. 100 in. x 140 in. x 200 in.). On the proper left side of the sculpture, near the base, it is signed "Augustus Lukeman Sc 1921."
The sculpture is inscribed on the front of the base:
FRANCIS ASBURY
1745-1816
PIONEER
METHODIST BISHOP
IN AMERICA
On the left side of the base it is inscribed:
HIS CONTINUOUS JOURNEY THROUGH CITIES
VILLAGES AND SETTLEMENTS FROM 1771 TO 1816
GREATLY PROMOTED PATRIOTISM EDUCATION MORALITY
AND RELIGION IN THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC
Act of Congress
On the right side of the base it is inscribed:
IF YOU SEEK FOR THE RESULTS OF HIS LABOR
YOU WILL FIND THEM
IN OUR CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION [3]
And on the back of the base it is inscribed:
THE PROPHET
OF THE LONG ROAD [4]
During the leap year of 1919, President Woodrow Wilson and the 66th Congress of the United States gave approval to the site and location for the Francis Asbury Statue. This formal event which occurred on February 29, 1919 allowed for the newly formed Francis Asbury Memorial Foundation to begin its work to raise monies for the Francis Asbury Statue.
For design of the statue, The Francis Asbury Memorial Foundation chose Mr. Evarts Tracy.
The distinguished designer from the New York architectural firm, Tracy and Swartwout, was not only a talented architect and designer, he was the great-great grandson of Roger Sherman, a signer of the American Declaration of Independence. In addition to his design architectural design experience, Mr. Evarts Tracy was commissioned years earlier to design camouflage techniques for the troops on the front line of World War I. The design of the Francis Asbury Statue by Mr. Evarts Tracy began in the year 1919. Upon completion of the design, the Francis Asbury Memorial Foundation chose the Roman Bronze Works of New York to build the equestrian memorial. In 1921, the Roman Bronze Works in turn commissioned the independent artist, Henry Augustus Lukeman to sculpt the Asbury Statue.
The American sculptor was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1872: at the early age of ten he began to sculpt with wood and clay. Through a workshop at the New York-based Boys' Club he learned the basics of sculpting. For the next three years, his fascination with the art form led him to study under the Irish artist and immigrant, Launt Thompson. By the age of sixteen, Augustus Lukeman gained an apprenticeship at the New York City based foundry founded by Mr. John Williams. He remained in this learning program until 1891 when he reached the age of nineteen. For the next few years, Augustus Lukeman spent his days studying and working with terra cotta and his evenings studying drawing techniques and antiques at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.
By the summer of 1924, Augustus Lukeman was nearly complete with the Francis Asbury Statue.
Wednesday, October 15, 1924 at 2:30 pm, several thousand people gather to view the dedication ceremony for the Francis Asbury Statue. Dignitaries from Washington D.C. seat on the white-draped platform. The photos from the day were taken from an advantageous viewpoint. The article, Francis Asbury Statue Dedication , displays the photos from the actual event.
In one of the photos, President Calvin Coolidge stands at the podium, ready to give his speech which contains the famous phrase about Francis Asbury which many who know of Asbury are familiar with, “He is entitled to rank as one of the builders of our nation.”
Another photo from the day of the dedication displays the patriotic manner in which the statue was vailed before the ceremony. Two large American flags flank either side of the statue. “The shot taken from the crowd level is a stunning depiction of Francis Asbury and the flags of his adopted country. A country in which he spent nearly his entire life leading the people of the frontier to Jesus Christ. [5] ”
The sculpture was founded by Roman Bronze Works in New York City. [3] The piece was erected by the Francis Asbury Memorial Foundation and was approved by Congress on February 29, 1919. It was dedicated on October 15, 1924 and cost $50,000. [6]
This sculpture was surveyed in 1994 for its condition and was described as "well maintained." [3]
Daniel Chester French 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 monumental statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
William Ordway Partridge was an American sculptor, teacher and author. Among his best-known works are the Shakespeare Monument in Chicago, the equestrian statue of General Grant in Brooklyn, the Pietà at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan, and the Pocahontas statue in Jamestown, Virginia.
Henry Augustus Lukeman was an American sculptor, specializing in historical monuments. Noted among his works are the World War I monument in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, the Kit Carson Monument in Trinidad, Colorado and the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial in Georgia.
Cyrus Edwin Dallin was an American sculptor best known for his depictions of Native Americans. He created more than 260 works, including the Equestrian Statue of Paul Revere in Boston; the Angel Moroni atop Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City; and Appeal to the Great Spirit (1908), at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He was also an accomplished painter and an Olympic archer.
Sherry Edmundson Fry was an American sculptor, who also played a prominent role in U.S. Army camouflage during World War I.
Walker Kirtland Hancock was an American sculptor and teacher. He created notable monumental sculptures, including the Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial (1950–52) at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, and the World War I Soldiers' Memorial (1936–38) in St. Louis, Missouri. He made major additions to the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., including Christ in Majesty (1972), the bas relief over the High Altar. Works by him are presently housed at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the Library of Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the United States Capitol.
Roman Bronze Works, now operated as Roman Bronze Studios, is a bronze foundry in New York City. Established in 1897 by Riccardo Bertelli, it was the first American foundry to specialize in the lost-wax casting method, and was the country's pre-eminent art foundry during the American Renaissance.
Zenos Frudakis, known as Frudakis, is an American sculptor whose diverse body of work includes monuments, memorials, portrait busts and statues of living and historic individuals, military subjects, sports figures and animal sculpture. Over the past four decades he has sculpted monumental works and over 100 figurative sculptures included within public and private collections throughout the United States and internationally. Frudakis currently lives and works near Philadelphia, and is best known for his sculpture Freedom, which shows a series of figures breaking free from a wall and is installed in downtown Philadelphia. Other notable works are at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina, the National Academy of Design, and the Lotos Club of New York City, the Imperial War Museum in England, the Utsukushi ga-hara Open Air Museum in Japan, and the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.
Dante Alighieri, is a public artwork by Italian artist Ettore Ximenes, located at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, D.C., United States. Dante Alighieri was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian Institution's Save Outdoor Sculpture! survey in 1994. The monument is a tribute to Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Major General John A. Logan, also known as the General John A. Logan Monument and Logan Circle Monument, is an equestrian statue in Washington, D.C. that honors politician and Civil War general John A. Logan. The monument is sited in the center of Logan Circle, a traffic circle and public park in the Logan Circle neighborhood. The statue was sculpted by artist Franklin Simmons, whose other prominent works include the Peace Monument and statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection. The architect of the statue base was Richard Morris Hunt, designer of prominent buildings including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island. Prominent attendees at the dedication ceremony in 1901 included President William McKinley, members of his cabinet, Senator Chauncey Depew, Senator Shelby Moore Cullom, and General Grenville M. Dodge.
Major General James B. McPherson is a public artwork by American artist Louis Rebisso, located at McPherson Square in Washington, D.C., United States. Major General James B. McPherson was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! survey in 1993. The monument is a bronze equestrian statue of Civil War hero James B. McPherson. The statue is a contributing monument to the Civil War Monuments in Washington, DC, of the National Register of Historic Places.
General Philip Sheridan is a bronze sculpture that honors Civil War general Philip Sheridan. The monument was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum, best known for his design of Mount Rushmore. Dedicated in 1908, dignitaries in attendance at the unveiling ceremony included President Theodore Roosevelt, members of the President's cabinet, high-ranking military officers and veterans from the Civil War and Spanish–American War. The equestrian statue is located in the center of Sheridan Circle in the Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The bronze statue, surrounded by a plaza and park, is one of eighteen Civil War monuments in Washington, D.C., which were collectively listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The sculpture and surrounding park are owned and maintained by the National Park Service, a federal agency of the Interior Department.
Major General Marquis Gilbert de Lafayette is a statue in the southeast corner of Lafayette Square, in Washington, D.C., near the junction of Pennsylvania Avenue with Madison Place and close to the White House. The statue was erected in 1891 to honor Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette and his contribution in the American Revolutionary War. The square, originally part of the President's Park, was named in honor of the Marquis in 1824. The statuary was made by Alexandre Falguière and Antonin Mercié, and the architect who designed the marble pedestal was Paul Pujol..
Major General George Henry Thomas, also known as the Thomas Circle Monument, is an equestrian sculpture in Washington, D.C. that honors Civil War general George Henry Thomas. The monument is located in the center of Thomas Circle, on the border of the downtown and Logan Circle neighborhoods. It was sculpted by John Quincy Adams Ward, best known for his work on the statue of George Washington in Wall Street, Manhattan. Attendees at the dedication in 1879 included President Rutherford B. Hayes, Generals Irvin McDowell, Philip Sheridan, and William Tecumseh Sherman, senators and thousands of soldiers.
Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt is a 1939 bronze sculpture by James Earle Fraser. It was located on public park land at the American Museum of Natural History, New York City. The equestrian statue depicts Theodore Roosevelt on horseback. Walking on either side of him are two men, on one side a Native American and on the other, a sub-Saharan African.
Neil Carl Estern was an American sculptor. Known for his public monuments, Estern's best-known works are his sculptures of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Fala at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington. Estern was also the creator of Patti Playpal.
The Ulysses S. Grant Monument is a presidential memorial in Chicago, honoring American Civil War general and 18th President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant. Located in Lincoln Park, the statue was commissioned shortly after the president's death in 1885 and was completed in 1891. Several artists submitted sketches, and Louis Rebisso was selected to design the statue, with a granite pedestal suggested by William Le Baron Jenney. At the time of its completion, the monument was the largest bronze statue cast in the United States, and over 250,000 people were present at the dedication.
George Washington is an outdoor equestrian statue by the Scottish-American sculptor J. Massey Rhind located in Washington Park in Newark, New Jersey. It depicts General George Washington saying farewell to the troops of the Continental Army on November 2, 1783, and was dedicated on the anniversary of that event in 1912.
Major General David McMurtrie Gregg is a monumental statue located in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States. The monument was designed by Henry Augustus Lukeman and consists of an equestrian statue depicting David McMurtrie Gregg, a military officer who had served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The monument was dedicated in 1922, several years after Gregg's death in Reading in 1916.