Proposed Colossal Statue of George Washington for the City of New York
Medium
Lithograph with tint stone
Dimensions
image: 16 1/4 x 13 3/8 in. (41.3 x 34 cm) sheet: 21 7/8 x 17 1/2 in. (55.5 x 44.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Edward W. C. Arnold Collection of New York Prints, Maps and Pictures, Bequest of Edward W. C. Arnold, 1954
Accession Number
54.90.721
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1845, American sculptor Thomas Crawford proposed this ambitious design for a colossal statue of George Washington to grace New York City, capturing the era's fervor for monumental tributes to the nation's founding father. Rendered as a tinted lithograph by printers Frederick Catherwood, G. Thomas, Francis Michelin, and publishers Bartlett & Welford, the image depicts Washington in heroic neoclassical pose amid trees, evoking Roman emperors and symbolizing enduring American ideals of liberty and leadership. This print, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Edward W. C. Arnold Collection, ser...