George Washington

In 1784, the Congress of Virginia passed a resolution to have a statue of President Washington made for the State Capitol. Governor Harrison authorized Thomas Jefferson, then Minister to France, to select a European artist he considered worthy of this task. Benjamin Franklin was consulted and the choice fell upon Houdon, the foremost portrait sculptor of his time. In July 1785, Houdon sailed for Philadelphia, accompanied by his friend Franklin and three of his workmen. Advised of the master’s arrival in September of that year, Washington hastened to invite him to Mount Vernon. After two weeks’ work, Houdon took a life mask, other plaster impressions, minute measurements of Washington’s body and sketches back to Paris. His imposing and elegant statue was completed in 1792 and today still adorns the front of the Capitol in Richmond.

315B 24"

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was 43 years old when this portrait was made. By that time, he had already drafted the Declaration of Independence, been the Governor of Virginia and ambassador to France, and served in the first Continental Congress. He would go on to become Vice-President under John Adams and then President, serving two consecutive terms. He also founded and designed the University of Virginia before retiring to his beloved Monticello, where the best minds of two continents sought audience with the great sage. He died on July 4th, 1826, 50 years to the day after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

342B/W - Brnze/Wht 8"

343B/W - Brnze/Wht 12"

344B/W - Brnze/Wht 30"

Standing Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson represents the essence of democracy as he proudly clutches The Declaration of Independence, which he largely penned, in this full-length statue. The original work that immortalizes one of our nation's Founding Fathers was commissioned by an Act of Congress for the United States Capitol. In terms of fame and financial success, Hiram Powers was the dominant American Sculptor of the ninteeneth century, blending classical idealism, physical idealism, and appealing subject matter with moral overtones.

636WM 23"

Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams (1744 - 1818) was the wife of John Adams, who was the second President of the United States, and mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president. Depite a lack of formal education, Abigail was widely read. She ably managed the household and farm during her husband's frequent absences. The many letters she and her husband wrote to one another are filled with intellectual discussions on government and politics, as well as a testament to their strong and affectionate marriage.

690B 9"

John Adams

After serving two terms as the first vice president under George Washington, John Adams was elected as the second president of the United States.Adams was an early leader in the American Revolution, starting with his oppositing to the Stamp Act and emerged as a leader in the Continental Congress, advocating independence from Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson called Adams "the pillar of the Declaration's support on the floor of Congress, its ablest advocate and defender against the multifarious assaults it encountered."

697B 9.5"

John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams served as the sixth president of the United States. John Quincy Adams was a diplomat, involved in many international negotations, and helped formulate the Monroe Doctrine while serving as secretary of state. Adams was elected to the House of Representatives after leaving office, the only president ever to do so. He served in Congress for nine consecutive terms and earned the nickname "Old Man Eloquent" for his frequent and articulate speeches opposing slavery.

698B 8"

Seated Lincoln

Seated Lincoln is the work of sculptor Daniel Chester French, who was taught by May Alcott, sister of the gallant Louisa. French's first commission was The Minute Man for the centennial celebration of the Concort fight. Nearly fifty years separate this initial accomplishment from the completion of his most famous statue, the great marble Lincoln of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Of the many sketches which the artist made between 1912 and 1915, this particular one was selected because a seated figure was through to be appropriate for the inside of the memorial.

701W 7.5"

Lincoln Life Mask

Shortly before winning the Republican nomination for President, Lincoln paid several visits to artist Leonard Wells Volk. Though he found the process of letting wet plaster dry on his face followed by a skin-stretching removal process "anything but agreeable," Lincoln endured it with good humor. Upon seeing the finished product, he declared it, "the animal himself."

703B 10"

Lincoln Finale

This portrait owes its inspiration to the last photograph of the President taken by Alexander Gardner on April 10, 1865. The news of Lee's surrender had reached the White House only hours earlier. The end of the Civil War was imminent, but the strain of the ordeal clearly shows up in the portrait. The sculptor, Leo Cherne, made a thorough study of Lincoln's face which he describes as "a palimpsest of human paradox." The bronze original of this portrait head is at the Lincoln Museum at Washington, D.C.

708B 7.5"

Young Lincoln

Shortly before he won the nomination at the Republican Convention in Chicago, May 1860, Lincoln paid several visits to Volk’s studio and gave the sculptor the opportunity to make his life mask as well as his portrait. Although a contemporary bronze cast of the latter was known to exist, its whereabouts were unknown until 1947, when it was discovered in an antique store in New York.

707B 6.5"

709B 13"

710B 21"

Theodore Roosevelt

By Gleb Derujinsky. A Portrayal of the rugged individualist, environmentalist, author, and lecturer who was our 26th President.

712B 9"

Henry Ford

Automotive pioneer Henry Ford (1863-1947) did not invent the automotive or mass production, but he perfected the moving assembly line process and revolutionized the automotive industry. The Ford Model T is credited with literally putting the world on wheels. Ford was also interested in education and believed that innovation and technology would lead to a better future. He felt that people would be inspired and educated by contact with history as exhibits and objects, rather than schoolbooks and words. Over the years, Ford’s educational institutions have continued to serve the public and have gained an international reputation for using these vast collections to create programs that demonstrate American innovation, ingenuity, and resourcefulness

713B 11.5"

Winston Churchill

In the year of her Coronation, Queen Elizabeth II commissioned royal sculptor Oscar Nemon to execute a marble bust of Sir Winston Churchill, which is now in Windsor Castle. Political icon and statesman Churchill led the United Kingdom during World War II, working closely with U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt during perhaps the greatest international struggle of the 20th century. Among the artist's famous sitters have been Queen Elizabeth II, Sigmund Freud, and President Eisenhower.

715W 8.75"

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States, is regarded by many as one of the greatest Presidents of the 20th century. This bust commemorates "The Gipper" as a man of optimism and vision.

725B 17.5"

Benjamin Franklin

When Benjamin Franklin arrived in Paris in 1776, representing his now independent country, the fame of the septuagenarian as a scientist and statesman, philosopher and publicist, had spread throughout the Western World. Engravings, decorated plates, and miniatures in clay, porcelain, and plaster were nearly mass-produced. No wonder then that Jean-Antoine Houdon, whose works reads like an encyclopedia of the great names of the era, decided to create a portrait of Franklin, who was also his friend.

726B

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

By Jo Davidson. America's thirty-second President. A man of many accomplishments who told us "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!"

736B 9"

Mark Twain

Mark Twain (1835-1910) was the pen name for the American born author and humorist Samuel L. Clemens. At age 12, Twain was forced to leave school and begin working due to the death of his father. He began a printer’s apprenticeship at the Hannibal Journal, a newspaper owned by his brother, Orion. Soon, he began contributing articles and humorous sketches. Eventually, Twain journeyed to New Orleans where he found work on the waters of the Mississippi as a licensed river boat captain. It was during this five-year period that Twain met many of the people that served as inspiration for characters in his novels and short stories. Twain wrote and traveled extensively for a number of years before marrying Olivia Langdan in 1870 in Elmira, New York. Later Twain and his wife moved to Hartford, Connecticut where she gave birth to the couples three daughters and he completed his greatest works: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Life on the Mississippi.

743B 9"

Chopin

Polish pianist and composer Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin was born in 1810 and was already composing music by the time he turned seven. Known as “little Chopin” throughout Warsaw, by age twelve, his piano skills surpassed those of his instructor. By age twenty, Chopin had written some of the world’s best concertos, ballads, and preludes, which he spent the next two decades performing throughout Europe, his considerable talent continuously praised by critics and audiences alike. He died in 1849 from tuberculosis.

745W 11"

Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was a distinguished public figure in her own right. She served as first lady from 1933-1945, supporting the New Deal policies of her husband, as well as being a strong advocate for civil rights and human welfare. Much of her life was spent in service to others, from working as a social worker in the East Side slums of New York at age seventeen, to chairing the United Nations committee responsible for getting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights drafted and approved. At her memorial service, Adlai Stevenson said of her, “What other single human being has touched and transformed the existence of so many?”

748B 8.5"

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower, leader of the victorious Allied forces in Europe in World War II, rode a wave of popularity as a war hero to become President of the United States (1953-1961). As President, Eisenhower ended the Korean War, created the Interstate Highway System, signed the first civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, brought Alaska and Hawaii into the Union, took America into outer space with the establishment of NASA, and warned the country against the “Military-Industrial Complex.” People throughout the world loved the tall, baldheaded man they fondly called “Ike”. His broad grin and friendly manner could put almost anyone at ease.

758B 10.5"

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and as the world's greatest dramatist. His body of work consists of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and several other poems. Beyond his impact on the language, Shakespeare is so widely read and performed today because he used his considerable talent to explore the timeless truths about what it means to be human. This portrait bust is the work of an unknown 19th century sculptor. This faithful reproduction is hand-cast and hand-finished in crushed stone resin.

771B 8"