Equestrian Statue Of George Washington (Newark)
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''George Washington'' is an outdoor
equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a ...
by the Scottish-American sculptor J. Massey Rhind located in Harriet Tubman Square (formerly Washington Park) in
Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
. It depicts General
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
saying farewell to the troops of the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...
on November 2, 1783, and was dedicated on the anniversary of that event in 1912.


History

Sculptor J. Massey Rhind was commissioned to do the work, funded by the bequest of Amos H. Van Horn (1840–1908), owner of one of the largest furniture stores in Newark. Born in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Rhind (1860–1936) had a workshop in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and was known for the classical
caryatid A caryatid ( ; ; ) is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term ''karyatides'' literally means "maidens of Karyai", an ancient t ...
s at Macy's Department Store on 34th Street. Rhind's proposal was for a distinctive equestrian statue, showing General Washington saying farewell to the troops and standing beside, rather than mounted on, his horse, which helped secure the commission. The statue was cast in 1912 by the Roman Bronze Works of New York City, which had also done the casting of Rhind's sculptures for the Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
''George Washington'' was installed in Newark's Washington Park and dedicated on November 2, 1912, the anniversary of the event depicted. President
William H. Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...
was scheduled to deliver an address at the dedication, but then had to attend the funeral of vice-president
James S. Sherman James Schoolcraft Sherman (October 24, 1855 – October 30, 1912) was the 27th vice president of the United States, serving from 1909 until his death in 1912, under President William Howard Taft. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...
, who had died three days earlier, on October 30.


Description

The
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 ...
depicts General Washington saying his farewell address to the troops of the Continental Army at Rocky Hill, New Jersey, on November 2, 1783. This event was after word of the
peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...
ending the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
had arrived from
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. The statue shows Washington, dismounted from his horse, in military uniform, and with a riding cloak over his shoulder. His horse is shown with a raised foot and lowered head. The statue measures approximately high x wide x long and is on a stone base that measures approximately high x wide x long.


Legacy

After its dedication in 1912, brewery mogul Christian William Feigenspan commissioned Rhind for a copy of the equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni in
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
. The statue was dedicated in Newark's Clinton Park (now Lincoln Park) on July 28, 1916. The Washington statue was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
as a contributing property of the James Street Commons Historic District on January 9, 1978. With It was surveyed by the Save Outdoor Sculpture program of the
Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...
in 1995.


See also

* List of public art in Newark, New Jersey * List of statues of George Washington * List of sculptures of presidents of the United States * List of equestrian statues in the United States * New Jersey in the American Revolution * Timeline of Newark, New Jersey * Rockingham – Where Washington wrote his farewell orders


References


External links

* * {{George Washington Sculptures by J. Massey Rhind Statues of George Washington Public art in Newark, New Jersey 1912 sculptures Bronze sculptures in New Jersey Equestrian statues in New Jersey Monuments and memorials in New Jersey Monuments and memorials to George Washington in the United States Outdoor sculptures in New Jersey Sculptures of men in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Newark, New Jersey Historic district contributing properties in Newark, New Jersey New Jersey in the American Revolution