R.D. Whitehead Monument
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - R.D. Whitehead Monument
OR:
R.D. Whitehead Monument on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

The ''R. D. Whitehead Monument'' is a public artwork by
Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...
born American artist Sigvald Asbjornsen located on the south side of
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
,
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The artwork consists of a bronze-relief plaque depicting a dog and horse, set on a granite pillar, which is in turn part of a fountain.


Description

The ''R. D. Whitehead Monument'', also known as the ''Horse and Dog Fountain'' and the ''Whitehead Memorial Fountain'', was originally a watering trough, located in Milwaukee's South Side, that was converted into a fountain in 1966. There is a granite pillar rising from the fountain on which there is a bronze bas-relief. The bronze depicts a horse and a dog, both in profile. There are several inscriptions on the sculpture: The bottom of the relief reads: DANDY GEORGE The front of the pillar's base reads: :ERECTED BY :R. D. WHITEHEAD The rear of the pillar's base reads: :ERECTED BY R. D. WHITEHEAD SUPT. :THE BADGER STATE HUMANE SOCIETY :IN REMEMBRANCE OF MY FAITHFUL FRIENDS :HORSE, GEORGE :DOGS, JIM, FLORA, DANDY, PET :PUNCH, JUDY & SHORTY :CATS, FRANK & HENRY :BIRDS, BROWNEY & DICK A plaque affixed to the rear of the base reads: :R. D. WHITEHEAD MONUMENT :ORIGINALLY A HORSE WATERING TROUGH :ERECTED IN 1910 :RESTORED AS A FOUNTAIN IN 1966 :BY THE MAYOR'S BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE :DESIGNATED A MILWAUKEE LANDMARK IN 1974 :IN RECOGNITION OF ITS HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE TO THE COMMUNITY
SIRIS.


Historical information

Richard D. Whitehead was appointed by the Humane Society as superintendent of the Wisconsin Humane Society in 1879, a position he filled for more than 25 years.
Wisconsin Humane Society. The position called for Whitehead to investigate the cases of animal and child abuse referred to the organization. He grew up on a farm in
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
and worked in a livery stable in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, both experiences which made him aware of the mistreatment suffered by animals. Whitehead investigated more than 700 cases over the course of his career. These sometimes required that he exercise "his police powers in an effort to prevent further abuse".Buck, Diane M. and Virginia A. Palmer (1995). ''Outdoor Sculpture in Milwaukee: A Cultural and Historical Guidebook'', p. 90. The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison Whitehead left the Wisconsin Humane Society in 1906 and formed the short-lived Badger State Humane Society. Upon his retirement, he erected the ''R. D. Whitehead Memorial'' watering trough at as a memorial to all his faithful animals. At the time that the ''R. D. Whitehead Memorial'' was completed, watering troughs were found at many intersections around Milwaukee. "This trough was particularly welcomed by horses that pulled wagonloads of produce to the Farmer's Market nearby on South 16th Street." It is the last watering trough left in the city of Milwaukee and became a City of Milwaukee Landmark in 1964. The trough was eventually turned into a water fountain in 1966. The animals depicted in the bas-relief, George the horse and Dandy the dog, were both animal friends of R. D. Whitehead. The animals listed on the plaque on the back of the monument are all animals the donor loved.


Artist


Condition

In a survey conducted in April 1993, the sculpture was found to need treatment.


See also

*
Animalier An animalier (, ) is an artist, mainly from the 19th century, who specializes in, or is known for, skill in the realistic portrayal of animals. "Animal painter" is the more general term for earlier artists. Although the work may be in any genre ...
* Henry Bergh (sculpture)


References

{{MilwaukeePublicArt Outdoor sculptures in Milwaukee 1910 sculptures Horses in art Sculptures of dogs in the United States Bronze sculptures in Wisconsin Articles containing video clips