Statue of Alexander Hamilton (Boston)

A statue of Alexander Hamilton by William Rimmer is installed along Commonwealth Avenue, between Arlington and Berkeley Streets, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

Statue of Alexander Hamilton
The statue in 2017
Map
ArtistWilliam Rimmer
MediumGranite sculpture
SubjectAlexander Hamilton
LocationBoston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Coordinates42°21′12.4″N 71°4′20.8″W / 42.353444°N 71.072444°W / 42.353444; -71.072444

Description

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The 1864–1865 granite statue measures approximately 10 ft. x 3 ft. 4 in. x 3 ft. 4 in., and rests on a granite base measuring 8 ft. 5 in. x 5 ft. 4 in. x 5 ft. 4 in. The base has three relief portrait busts depicting Hamilton, John Jay, and George Washington.

History

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The artwork was surveyed by the Smithsonian Institution's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in 1993.[1]

Reception

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The statue was widely regarded as a failure by nineteenth-century commentators. The critic George B. Woods stated that Hamilton appeared to be "swathed like an infant or a mummy."[2] William H. Downes wrote that it "suggested a snow image which had partly melted."[2] Lincoln Kirstein, writing in 1961, offered a more favorable assessment, commenting that "the mass and its drapery are powerfully suggestive, anticipating Rodin's Balzac in the looming treatment of the rising form."[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Alexander Hamilton, (sculpture)". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Kirstein, Lincoln (1961). "William Rimmer: His Life and Art". The Massachusetts Review. 2 (4): 685–716. JSTOR 25086738.
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