Statue of Israel Putnam
41°45′54.5″N 72°40′50.5″W / 41.765139°N 72.680694°W | |
Location | Bushnell Park, Hartford, Connecticut, United States |
---|---|
Designer | John Quincy Adams Ward (sculptor) R. M. Hunt (architect) |
Fabricator | Robert Wood & Company |
Type | Statue |
Material | Bronze Granite |
Length | 5 feet (1.5 m) |
Width | 4 feet (1.2 m) |
Height | 17 feet (5.2 m) |
Beginning date | 1872 or 1873 |
Completion date | 1873 |
Dedicated date | June 17, 1874 |
Dedicated to | Israel Putnam |
General Israel Putnam is a
History
Israel Putnam was a military officer who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.[1] Born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1718, he moved to Connecticut in 1739 and died there in 1790, having become a folk hero in the state.[2]
In 1869,
The monument was dedicated on June 17, 1874, in a large ceremony at the park.[1] The dedication took place on the anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill (a Revolutionary War battle in which Putnam participated almost 100 years prior) and occurred during a wave of monument-building in the United States that honored both Revolutionary and Civil War-era figures.[5] The statue would be one of the first to be erected in the park,[5] coming several years after the erection of the first statue in the park, one of Bishop Thomas Church Brownell, in 1869.[4]
In 1993, the monument was surveyed as part of the Save Outdoor Sculpture! project.[3]
Design
The monument consists of a bronze statue of Putnam, standing 7 feet (2.1 m) tall,[note 2] atop a granite pedestal standing 10 feet (3.0 m) tall.[3][1] The sculpture has side dimensions of approximately 2.5 feet (0.76 m) by 1.5 feet (0.46 m), while the rectangular pedestal has side measurements of 5 feet (1.5 m) by 4 feet (1.2 m).[3] Putnam is dressed in his military garb from the Revolutionary War, including a frock coat and cravat, and is depicted in midstride.[3][5] He is holding a sword by his side with his left hand, while his relaxed right hand holds onto a tricorne.[3] According to an 1874 article in The Aldine, Ward modeled Putnam's face off of an ink portrait belonging to his descendants and a portrait created by John Trumbull.[3] The base of the sculpture bears markings from the designer and foundry (J.Q.A. WARD / 1873 / R. WOOD & CO / BRONZE FOUNDERS. / PHILA.), while the front of the pedestal reads "ISRAEL PUTNAM" and the back bears the inscription "PRESENTED / BY THE HONOURABLE / JOSEPH PRATT ALLYN / MDCCCLXXIII".[3]
Analysis
Contemporary reviews of the statue were generally mixed. An 1888 article by T. H. Bartlett in The American Architect and Building News states that the public was disappointed in Ward's portrayal of Putnam, saying, "Artists, as well as the public, have criticized, justly, the position and character of the statue."[6] However, a 1903 article by Amanda M. Flattery in The Bay View Magazine lists the statue among several other examples of Ward's "genius", including his equestrian statue of George Henry Thomas and statue of George Washington.[7] The Bushnell Park Foundation, which oversees the park and administers the statue, observe that "[i]n Ward’s rendering of Putnam taking a step forward, he is no longer a static figure but a candid portrayal of a fleeting moment as the general strides forth", which lends "a more natural, spontaneous character and heightened the realism of his sculpture". They proceed to note that while the monument is "a radical departure from his work in the post-Civil War period, this statue marks a new and important dimension in his work".[2]
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bartlett 1888, p. 279.
- ^ a b c "Israel Putnam". Bushnell Park Foundation. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- ^ Smithsonian Institution Research Information System. Archivedfrom the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- ^ a b Adams 1895, p. 177.
- ^ a b c d e "General Israel Putnam". Public Art CT. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- ^ Bartlett 1888, p. 280.
- ^ Flattery 1903, p. 279.
Sources
- Adams, Sherman W. (April–June 1895). "The Hartford Park System". The Connecticut Quarterly. 1 (2): 173–179.
- Bartlett, T. H. (June 16, 1888). "Some American Monuments – IV". The American Architect and Building News. XXIII (651). Ticknor & Company: 279–282.
- Flattery, Amanda M. (March 1903). "Some Representative American Sculptors". The Bay View Magazine. 10 (5): 275–292.
External links
- Media related to Israel Putnam by John Quincy Adams Ward at Wikimedia Commons