''Jonathan Trumbull'' is an 1872

marble sculpture Marble has been the preferred material for stone monumental sculpture since ancient times, with several advantages over its more common geological "parent" limestone, in particular the ability to absorb light a small distance into the surface b ...

Jonathan Trumbull Jonathan Trumbull Sr. (October 12, 1710August 17, 1785) was an American politician and statesman who served as Governor of Connecticut during the American Revolution. Trumbull and Nicholas Cooke of Rhode Island were the only men to serve as go ...

by Chauncey Ives, installed in the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

, 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 ...

, 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 Hal ...

. It is one of two statues donated by the state of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. The sculpture was unveiled by Senator

William Alfred Buckingham William Alfred Buckingham (May 28, 1804 – February 5, 1875) was an American politician who served as the governor of Connecticut during the Civil War and later as a United States senator. Biography Born in Lebanon, Connecticut, the son of Sam ...

of Connecticut on March 8, 1872. The statue is one of two that Ives placed in the collection, the other being ''

Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an early American politician, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign all four great state papers of the United States: the Continental Association, ...

'', also representing Ives's native state of Connecticut. The sculptor and critic

Lorado Taft Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860 – October 30, 1936) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. Part of the American Renaissance movement, his monumental pieces include, ''Fountain of Time'', ''Spirit of the Great Lakes'', and ''The ...

, in his book ''The History of American Sculpture'', is not kind to either Ives or his creations, writing that "Connecticut, with misplaced loyalty to an aspiring son, gave him the commission for the two figures which represent the state in the National Hall of Statuary. The result may be seen in the two marble images labelled "Trumbull" and "Sherman" which were introduced into that very promiscuous gathering in 1872. Description of these curious works would be unprofitable. They fit in nicely with the majority of their companions, but of all the dead men there they seem the most conscious of being dead." The artist historian E. Wayne Craven, in the next survey of American sculpture, ''Sculpture in America'', adds that both statues were "represented in colonial attire, and were accordingly turned into costume pieces by the sculptor, who was better at rendering ruffles and buttons than at modeling the male figure."Craven, Wayne, ''Sculpture in America'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co., New York 1968, p. 288

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* 1872 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1872 sculptures Marble sculptures in Washington, D.C. Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. Trumbull, Jonathan Sculptures of men in Washington, D.C. {{US-sculpture-stub

See also

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