The Whaleman

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The Whaleman
Whaler statue.JPG
The monument in 2006
The Whaleman
Interactive map of The Whaleman
Location New Bedford Free Public Library, New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States
Coordinates 41°38′6.5″N70°55′38″W / 41.635139°N 70.92722°W / 41.635139; -70.92722
Designer Bela Pratt (sculptor)
Nathaniel Cannon Smith (architect)
Type Statue
Material Bronze (statue)
Granite (base)
Length7 ft 10 in (2.39 m)
Width7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Height11 ft (3.4 m)
Beginning date1912
Completion date1913
Dedicated dateJune 20, 1913
Dedicated to Whalers from New Bedford

The Whaleman is a public statue located in New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. It was commissioned in 1912 by William W. Crapo, a former member of the United States House of Representatives, as a gift for the city, in recognition of its whaling industry. It was dedicated the following year in front of the New Bedford Free Public Library. The bronze statue was designed by sculptor Bela Pratt, while Nathaniel Cannon Smith, who had also designed the library, served as the monument's architect. Since its unveiling, the monument has been considered a symbol of the city, and its image has been widely reproduced.

Contents

Design

The monument consists of a bronze sculpture and a granite base and wall. [1] The sculpture, which emerges from the wall, depicts a shirtless man standing at the bow of a boat that is surrounded by ocean waves. [1] The man holds a harpoon, positioned over his right shoulder, which he is aiming downwards, in front of the boat. [1] Markings on the sculpture indicate the foundry that cast it ("The Gorham Co. Founder, Providence, RI.") and both its designer ("B.L. Pratt 1912"). [1] The front of the wall features images of seagulls and the inscription "A Dead Whale or a Stove Boat", [1] which is a quote from Captain Ahab of the novel Moby-Dick . [2] On the rear is the following inscription: [1]

IN HONOR OF THE WHALEMEN WHOSE / SKILL HARDIHOOD AND DARING BROUGHT / FAME AND FORTUNE TO NEW BEDFORD / AND MADE ITS NAME KNOWN IN EVERY / SEAPORT THE GLOBE / GIFT OF W.W. CRAPO / 1913

The rear of the wall also features a commemorative plaque that bears the inscription "New Bedford Port / LUCEM DIFFUNDO". [1]

The sculpture has a height of 10 feet (3.0 meters), while the wall is 11 ft (3.4 m) tall. [1] Additionally, the granite base has area dimensions of 7 ft 10 in (2.39 m) by 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m). [1]

History

Creation

The monument was the idea of William W. Crapo, a well-known resident of New Bedford and former member of the United States House of Representatives, [2] who intended for it to be a gift from him to the city. [3] On February 8, 1912, Crapo wrote a letter to Charles S. Ashley, New Bedford's mayor, requesting that preparations be made for the unveiling of a monument in recognition of the city's whaling industry. [2] [4] In the letter, he specified that he wished for the monument to be located in front of the city's public library and that he had already requested sculptor Bela Pratt to design a model. [2] Ashley responded to Crapo later that month that he supported his plan. [2] [5] This was not the first time that Crapo had been involved in the historic preservation of the whaling industry in the city, as several years earlier in 1906 he had helped to established what would later be known as the New Bedford Whaling Museum. [6]

Pratt was commissioned by Crapo in 1912, [1] the same year that he began work on the sculpture. [7] According to an ancestor of Crapo's, Pratt had been difficult to commission but was ultimately able to convince him to accept the project, [3] for which he was paid $25,000 (equivalent to $815,000in 2024). [2] [7] Richard Lewis McLachlan, a boatsteerer who was a New Bedford local, served as Pratt's model for the whaleman, [2] posing in a whaleboat at the Old Dartmouth Historical Society. [1] Crapo had reached out to a whaling agent to find a whaleman for Pratt to use as a model, with the first individual sent to him being a native of Cape Verde. [8] However, he was rejected, as the monument's planners wanted to use a white person instead. [8] The statue was cast in 1913 by the Gorham Manufacturing Company. [1] [note 1] Meanwhile, Nathaniel Cannon Smith served as the architect for the project, designing the granite base and a drainage system for the boat. [2] Smith had previously designed the library which the monument was to be installed in front of. [2]

The monument was dedicated on June 20, 1913, [1] in a ceremony that attracted several thousand spectators. [2] [9] The monument was unveiled by George Baker, a sea captain who was the oldest living whaling master in New Bedford. [2] [9] During the ceremony, Crapo gave an introductory address, while the monument was accepted on behalf of the city by Mayor Ashley. [9] Other speakers at the event included Edmund Wood (the president of the Old Dartmouth Historical Society), [10] the Reverend Charles S. Thurber, P. C. Headley Jr. (a representative for the local Board of Trade), [11] and Otis S. Cook (a trustee for the library). [12]

Later history

In 1987, the sculpture was cleaned via sandblasting. [1] Several years later, in 1993, the monument was surveyed as part of the Save Outdoor Sculpture! program. [1] In December 1998, the harpoon from the sculpture went missing, with a replacement installed the following year. [13]

In September 2011, Mayor Scott W. Lang ordered that a wrought iron fence be erected around the monument. [14] The fence, which was installed without the consultation of either the library's board of trustees or the city council, drew the ire of several councilors and historic preservationists. [14] Per the mayor's office, the fence was erected at the same time that repairs had been made to the monument's base, which it was discovered were undermined. [14] Lang later stated that the fence was added as a safety measure to prevent people from hurting themselves with the sculpture's harpoon and that the changes had been made with consultation of other city officials, including a historic planner. [15] In January 2012, Mayor Jon Mitchell said that he did not believe that the fence interfered with the appearance of the monument and thought that it was necessary for safety. [14] Despite this, the city council announced that they would be looking into possibly removing the fence. [14] However, as of 2013, the fence was still present. [15] [13] In May of that year, the sculpture's harpoon was bent in an act of vandalism. [13]

In June 2013, the city hosted a centennial ceremony for the monument at the library that included several elected officials, including Mayor Mitchell and Antonio Cabral of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and descendants of both Crapo and Pratt. [3]

In 2024, the harpoon broke off of the sculpture, prompting plans for a largescale restoration of the monument. [7] This occurred the following year, with Daedalus Conservation, Inc. reattaching the harpoon and applying an acrylic coat to the sculpture to hinder corrosion. [7] [16]

Legacy and historical analysis

A postcard of the monument, c. 1930-1945 The Whaleman Statue, New Bedford, Mass (68416).jpg
A postcard of the monument, c. 1930–1945

Since its erection, the monument has become a widely known emblem of the city of New Bedford, with The Standard-Times reporting in 2013 that the statue was "a worldwide symbol of the city". [3] This sentiment was echoed by local historian Peggi Medeiros, [13] who has called the statue "probably the greatest gift the city has ever been given". [3] The image of the monument has been widely reproduced in souvenirs, including Christmas ornaments and postcards. [2]

Discussing the historical context for the monument, Janice Hodson, the curator for art at the New Bedford Free Public Library, said in 2013 that it was "a paean to a romanticized past". [2] Per Hodson, the statue was dedicated during a time when New Bedford's economy was in transition from one reliant on whaling to one more reliant on the textile industry, [2] which had supplanted whaling during the latter half of the 19th century to be the dominant industry in the city. [17] In a 2013 article celebrating the centennial of the monument, Matt Camara of The Standard-Times stated, "The statue has drawn fire over the years for everything from how the man depicted holds his harpoon to its portrayal of a white whaler when many whalers were men of color." [3] Similar controversy was noted by Auditi Guha in the newspaper several months prior. [15] In a 2023 book, academic Jamie L. Jones noted that the portrayal of the whaler as a white person was a conscientious decision by the monument's planners, as many of the harpooners during the time in New Bedford would have been Portuguese, while the harpooners featured in Moby-Dick, which was often cited during the development of the monument, were either black or indigenous. [18]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ In a 2013 article, The Standard-Times reported that records at the public library showed that casting was performed by Roman Bronze Works. [2] However, the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System entry for this monument states that the casting for the sculpture was performed by the Gorham Manufacturing Company. [1] In the entry, it is also noted that foundry marks present on the sculpture note "The Gorham Co." as the company that created the sculpture. [1]

References

Sources

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