The Matthew Fontaine Maury Monument, is a partially deconstructed memorial installed along

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

Monument Avenue Monument Avenue is a tree-lined grassy mall dividing the eastbound and westbound traffic in Richmond, Virginia, originally named for its emblematic complex of structures honoring those who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil Wa ...

depicting

Matthew Fontaine Maury Matthew Fontaine Maury (January 14, 1806February 1, 1873) was an American oceanographer and naval officer, serving the United States and then joining the Confederacy during the American Civil War. He was nicknamed "Pathfinder of the Seas" and ...

and commemorating his Confederate naval service and contributions to oceanography and naval meteorology. It features the engraved moniker "Pathfinder of the Seas". Between July 2–9, 2020, the bronze statue of Maury and other sculptural elements were removed from the monument by the city of Richmond, in response to local protests connected to nationwide unrest sparked by the

murder of George Floyd On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American man, was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old White police officer. Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk reported that he made a purchase using a c ...

in police custody in Minneapolis.

Conception and creation

The sculpture was designed by

Frederick William Sievers Frederick William Sievers (October 26, 1872 – 1966) was an American sculptor, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Sievers moved to Richmond, Virginia, as a young man, furthering his art studies by attending the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, wh ...

and unveiled on November 11, 1929. The "Pathfinder of the Seas" monument of

is located on Monument Avenue at Belmont Avenue. In 1915 the Matthew Fontaine Maury Association was founded with the purpose of erecting a monument to Maury though serious fundraising did not happen until after the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Eventually the

United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, a ...

joined in the fundraising, the State of Virginia and the City of Richmond each donated $1,000, and even

President Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

, a native Virginian, joined the Association. The committee selected Richmond sculptor

, the author of many

Lost Cause The Lost Cause of the Confederacy, known simply as the Lost Cause, is an American pseudohistorical and historical negationist myth that argues the cause of the Confederate States during the American Civil War was just, heroic, and not cente ...

memorials, to produce the work and he created the "most allegorical of Richmond's monuments." The monument was unveiled as part of an

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between th ...

celebration on November 11, 1929. The seated figure of Maury faced eastward, toward the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

that the "Pathfinder of the Seas" charted. He holds in his left hand a pencil and compass and in his right hand a copy of his charts. Beside his left foot is his book, '' Physical Geography of the Sea'', as well as a

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, indicating the central role that faith played in Maury's life. A

globe A globe is a spherical Earth, spherical Model#Physical model, model of Earth, of some other astronomical object, celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but, unlike maps, they do not distort the surface ...

of the Earth mounted on the upper pedestal is tilted slightly on its axis behind his head. It represents both land and sea, and the woman standing calmly is a representation of Mother Nature between the land and sea. Around the base of the globe are depictions of people clinging to a sinking boat in bad weather representing the dangers of the sea with a woman in the center, and on the right (north) side of the globe there is a farmer, boy and a dog representing Maury's work promoting land weather service, which dates back further than 1853.

Dismantling

On July 3, 2020, during an emergency declaration by

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The Governor (United States), governor is head of the Government_of_Virginia#Executive_branch, executive branch ...

Ralph Northam Ralph Shearer Northam (born September 13, 1959) is an American physician and former politician who served as the 73rd governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022. A pediatric Neurology, neurologist by occupation, he was an officer in the Medical Co ...

due to unrest following police brutality in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, parts of the memorial were taken down at the direction of the mayor of Richmond,

Levar Stoney Levar Marcus Stoney (born March 20, 1981) is an American politician who served as the 80th Mayor of Richmond, Virginia, mayor of Richmond, Virginia, from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previou ...

. The bronze statue of a chair-seated Maury (representing his handicap) on the lower semi-circular sub-pedestal was quickly removed due to its small size and accessibility; a bronze sculpture higher up on the round main pedestal, featuring a globe sculpture with various figures representing Maury's oceanographic travel and work remained until a week later on July 9 and was removed amid litigation to stop removal of additional memorials temporarily due to concern that the mayor was without authority to remove any of the historic monuments. While the statue of Maury and the globe were removed, the pedestal and sub-pedestal portions of the monument remained. As of October 2020, the statue's next permanent destination remained unclear. The vacant pedestal and sub-pedestal were finally removed on February 1, 2022, and the site has been made into a garden.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maury, Matthew Fontaine, Monument 1929 establishments in Virginia 1929 sculptures 2020 disestablishments in Virginia 2022 disestablishments in Virginia Books in art Buildings and structures in Richmond, Virginia Maps in art Matthew Fontaine Maury Monument Avenue Monuments and memorials in Virginia Outdoor sculptures in Richmond, Virginia Removed Confederate States of America monuments and memorials Sculptures of men in Virginia Statues in Virginia Monuments and memorials in Virginia removed during the George Floyd protests

Conception and creation

Dismantling

See also

References

External links