Image is in excellent condition with very good contrast. Backmark: Published by Selden & Co., No. 836 Main Street, Richmond, Va. Geo. E. Ennis, photographer. Handwritten in ink on the reverse is, “Bought in Richmond Va / Feby 18/8”.

Informative blurb on reverse of the mount reads, “WASHINGTON MONUMENT, Capitol Square, Richmond. This monument stands in the Grand Avenue which leads to the Executive Mansion. The total height of the structure is 60 feet. The figures are all of bronze, and were case in Amsterdam. Some estimate of their colossal proportions may be made from the fact that the equestrian figure alone weighs 21 tons, and is 19 feet in height. Those of Henry, Mason and Jefferson are each 12 feet in height. The structure was brought to its present state of completion in 1857.”

The Virginia Washington Monument became the first of Richmond’s many outdoor monuments and the second equestrian statue of George Washington in the United States.  The monument influenced others across the nation to erect representational memorial statues.  Interest in establishing an outdoor Virginia Washington Monument in Capitol Square began even before the Virginia General Assembly established a public subscription fund for it in 1817.

The monument represents the height of the “cult of Washington” in the 19th century.  The Commonwealth of Virginia proposed to relocate the remains of Washington there in 1816, but his heir Bushrod Washington refused the request.  The hope of making Capitol Square Washington’s last resting place persisted, and Crawford’s design reflects this hope.  The base of the monument includes a tomb with a massive stone door to secure the remains of the first president.  Efforts to obtain Washington’s remains did not succeed in the 1850’s, and Washington’s intended tomb remains empty.

The Washington Monument is a highly significant work of art by one of the most important early-19th century sculptors in the United States.  Recognizing the value of the monument, the Commonwealth of Virginia has undertaken conservation of the granite base and bronze figures in recent years. [ld]

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