Description
Marble statue of Columbus with his left hand held at his waist and his right hand held out at his side.
Annotation
Columbus and the sculpture of Aristeides the Just at the other end of Louisburg Square, are believed to have been shipped from Italy on a ship owned by Louisburg Square resident, Joseph Iasigii, a merchant shipowner originally from Smyrna. The inscription on a plaque attached to the iron fence around the park reads:
Louisburg (pronounced Lewisburg) Square is a private residential park. It was laid out in 1826 by the Mount Vernon Proprietors on pasture land purchased from John Singleton Copley. The homes were built from 1833-1847 and the statues of Aristeides, to the south, and Columbus, to the north, were erected in 1850. The name is thought to commemorate the 1845 battle of Louisburg during which an army of New England Volunteers captured Cape Breton Island from the French.
Dickey and Ponce de León state that the statue was presented to the city in 1849 by the resident Italian merchants; the chairman of the Presentation Committee being Mr. Iasigi.
The NIAF site stated that it was donated by Marquis Niccolo Reggio, an Italian businessman and consul in Boston for the Papal States, Spain, and the kingdoms of Sardinia and of the Two Sicilies.
Probably the first statue honoring Columbus in the USA.
Sculptor
- Unknown artist. Do you know who the sculptor is? please let us know.
Sources & Information
Tags
Locatie (N 42°21'31" - W 71°4'7") (Satellite view: Google Maps)
Item Code: usma12;
Photograph: 13 June 2003
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt
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