Horatio Greenough, George Washington (1832)

George Washington

Horatio Greenough

The marble statue on the following page was commissioned in 1832 by Congress to celebrate the centennial of George Washington’s birthday. It was intended for the rotunda in the Capitol building. From the minute it arrived, however, according to the Web site of the Smithsonian Institution Press, it “attracted controversy and criticism.” Modeled after a classical Greek statue of Zeus, this half-naked Washington seemed either offensive or comical to many Americans, some of whom joked that he is reaching for his clothes. The statue has been in several locations since then, including the lawn of the Capitol, and now resides in the new National Museum of American History.

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Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC/Art Resource, NY