Happy (actual) Birthday, Mr. Washington! ~~~ ~~~ Visit New York City for MacNeil Month ~~~ (#8)
By
MacNeil's 12' 8" statue Washington (left ) from the other side of the Arch.
George Washington
February 22, 1732
Pictured below is Hermon A. MacNeil’s sculpture of General Washington in the uniform of the General in Chief of the Continental Army placed on the easterly pedestal base of the memorial Arch on May 27, 1916.
H. A. MacNeil's "Washington at War" balances the east side of the Arch in Washington Square while Alexander Stirling Calder's "Washington as President" graces the west side. Both sculptors studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and represent that art style.
The first Washington Arch was constructed to commemorate the centenary of George Washington’s inauguration as the first President of the United States. That Memorial Arch was a temporary structure meant only for the celebration in 1889.
“The first arch was made of wood, designed by Stanford White, great architect of the age of opulence. It was originally constructed for the Centennial of Washington’s Inauguration. The celebration took place on April 30, 1889. Festooned with papier mache wreaths and garlands of flowers, lit up with hundreds of newly invented incandescent lights, the whole thing cost a whopping $2700. The arch was the hit of the ceremonies. Two days later the Marble and final version was commissioned. White also designed that. By April of 1892 the last block was in place, though the arch wasn’t dedicated until May 4, 1895!”
“Washington’s likenesses were not added until 1916 when the east pier’s “Washington at War” by Herman MacNeil was unveiled. Two years later the west pier’s “Washington at peace” by A. Stirling Calder was dedicated. Both have suffered erosion during the age of the automobile and the formerly fine features of Washington are pitted and broken down so, he is no longer really recognizable. Perhaps it’s time to redo them in bronze. For the next century. Why not?”
http://www.nyc-architecture.com/GV/GV046WashingtonSquareArch.htm
Calder's "George Washington as President" as it appeared before restoration.
Stanford White, of the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White, (click name to see their work) was one of the first to be associated with the City Beautiful and the Beaux Arts movements dedicated to cleaning up American cities and planning them with order and artistic beauty. The Arch stands at the end of Waverly Place and Fifth Avenue. The neighborhood was lined with mansions of the wealthy in the gilded age before World War I.
“The Gilded Age was a time of pomp and peace and prosperity. Never before were the gaps between the rich and poor so sharply divided as they were in those quiet years before The Great War of 1917. Without personal income tax to curtail immense fortunes in America’s burgeoning industries, millionaires flourished and paraded their wealth for all the world to see. The magnificent mansions of John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie stand like faded peacocks along New York’s Fifth Avenue to this day, bearing silent tribute to a luxurious past long faded into time.”
Marjorie Dorfman at http://www.nyc-architecture.com/ARCH/ARCH-McKimMeadandWhite.htm
According to the Daily Planet, Washington Square ARCH is one of the great place to celebrate Washington’s Birthday:
George Washington Sculptures at Washington Square Arch, Washington Square Park
Designed by architect Stanford White, the Arch was dedicated in 1895. Washington as Commander-in-Chief, Accompanied by Fame and Valor was designed by Hermon Atkins MacNeil and was installed in 1916. Washington as President, Accompanied by Wisdom and Justice was designed by Alexander Stirling Calder and installed in 1918. A major restoration of the arch was completed in December 2004. http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/M090/news
