''Philip Kearny'' is an 1888
bronze sculpture
Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...
of
Philip Kearny
Philip Kearny Jr. (; June 1, 1815 – September 1, 1862) was a United States Army officer, notable for his leadership in the Mexican–American War and American Civil War. He was killed in action in the 1862 Battle of Chantilly.
Early life and c ...
by
Henry Kirke Brown
Henry Kirke Brown (February 24, 1814 in Leyden, Massachusetts – July 10, 1886 in Newburgh, New York) was an American sculptor.
Life
He began to paint portraits while still a boy, studied painting in Boston under Chester Harding, learned a lit ...
, installed in the
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...
, in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, as part of the
National Statuary Hall Collection
The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old ...
. It is one of two statues donated by the state of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
.
Description and history
The statue portrays Kearny dressed in the uniform of a
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
general, holding a sword in his right hand. His coat draped over his left shoulder covers the fact that his left arn had been amputated following the Battle of Churubusco.
Although the statue entered the Hall in 1888 it is dated "1873" on the base. Kearny, described by William Walter Phelps while accepting the statue into the collection on August 21, 1888, called Kearny "the perfect soldier . . .brave as a lion, tender as a woman." A bill to replace the statue in the Capitol with one of suffragist Alice Paul passed the New Jersey Senate on February 10, 2020.
There are at least three other castings of the statue. One done in 1901 is located in Kearny Park, Muskegon, Michigan.
Another was dedicated in 1880 in Trenton, New Jersey and then relocated several times, finally to Military Park (Newark), Military Park in Newark, New Jersey. The Archives of American Art traced the some what complicated history of the statue. "In March 1868, the New Jersey legislature approved funding for a bronze portrait of Major General Philip Kearny to be placed in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. The cast was finished in 1873, but on its way to Washington, the statue was diverted to the State House in Trenton where it ended up in an obscure hallway. In 1880, the mistake was discovered and concerned citizens of Newark petitioned to relocate the sculpture to its original destination in Statuary Hall, and if not there, then to a suitable location in Newark, where Kearney was born and raised. The petition was successful and in 1880, the statue was installed to Newark's Military Park on a Quincy granite base designed by Henry Kirke Brown and architect Paul G. Botticher to resemble an embankment in a war fortification." It was added as a key contributing object to the Military Park Commons Historic District on June 18, 2004.
[ With ]
In 1993, the Newark statue was knocked off its base. In the process of restoring it a cast was taken and another version of the work was created, this one placed in Kearny, New Jersey, a town named after the general and dedicated on September 10, 1993.
See also
*Statues of the National Statuary Hall Collection
*List of public art in Newark, New Jersey
References
External links
*
{{Portal bar, New Jersey, Visual arts, United States
1873 sculptures
1888 establishments in Washington, D.C.
1888 sculptures
1993 sculptures
Bronze sculptures in Washington, D.C.
Monuments and memorials in Michigan
Monuments and memorials in New Jersey
Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C.
National Statuary Hall Collection, Kearny, Philip
Sculptures by Henry Kirke Brown
Sculptures of men in Michigan
Sculptures of men in New Jersey
Sculptures of men in Washington, D.C.
Statues in Michigan
Statues in New Jersey