Daniel Webster
Artist
Thomas Ball
(American, 1819–1911)
Date1853
MediumBronze
Dimensions77.5 x 33.2 x 28 cm (30 1/2 x 13 1/16 x 11 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineStoddard Acquisition Fund
Terms
Object number1989.167
Descriptioncast by J. T. Ames Foundry, dark brown patinaLabel TextNew Hampshire-born Daniel Webster was one of the best-known figures in nineteenth-century American political life. Originally a Constitutional lawyer, he served 29 years in the United States Congress as both a representative and senator, as well as being appointed Secretary of State for two presidents. He also ran unsuccessfully for president three times. The largely self-taught Thomas Ball first designed this statuette in plaster the year following Webster’s death. It was one of the first bronze statues to be cast in the United States, at the J.T. Ames Foundry, in Chicopee, Massachusetts. Ball had multiple copies of the small-scale work made in order to capitalize on his subject’s fame. Webster’s square stance and alert pose, with his hand tucked into his jacket, suggests a Roman orator, a reference doubtless intended to evoke the late senator’s known talent for speeches. ProvenanceConner-Rosenkranz, 251 East 84th St., New York, NY 10028
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