Year 1856 Artist Robert Eberhard Launitz Owner Smithsonian Institution | Type Carrara marble Created 1856 | |
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Dimensions 120 cm (4 ft); 61 cm diameter (2 ft) Location Smithsonian Institution Building, Washington, D.C., United States | ||
Andrew Jackson Downing, also known as the Andrew Jackson Downing Urn, is a public art work, located in the Enid A. Haupt Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Southwest, Washington, D.C.
It was designed by Calvert Vaux, and sculpted by Robert Eberhard Launitz. It was dedicated in September 1856. It was relocated on August 11, 1966, and rededicated on April 25, 1972.
The inscription reads:
(South face of base:)
WAS ERECTED BY HIS FRIENDS
IN MEMORY OF
ANDREW JACKSON DOWNING
WHO DIED JULY 28, 1852, AGED 37 YEARS
HE WAS BORN AND LIVED
AND DIED UPON THE HUDSON RIVER
HIS LIFE WAS DEVOTED TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE NATIONAL
TASTE IN RURAL ART
AN OFFICE FOR WHICH HIS GENIUS AND THE NATURAL BEAUTY ALMOST
WHICH HE LIVED HAD FULLY ENDOWED HIM
HIS SUCCESS WAS AS GREAT AS HIS GENIUS AND FOR THE DEATH
OF FEW PUBLIC MEN
WAS PUBLIC GRIEF EVER MORE SINCERE
WHEN THESE GROUNDS WERE PROPOSED, HE WAS AT ONCE
CALLED TO DESIGN THEM
BUT BEFORE THEY WERE COMPLETED HE PERISHED IN THE WRECK
OF THE STEAMER HENRY CLAY
HIS MIND WAS SINGULARLY JUST, PENETRATING AND ORIGINAL
HIS MANNERS WERE CALM, RESERVED, AND COURTEOUS
HIS PERSONAL MEMORY
BELONGS TO THE FRIENDS WHO LOVE HIM;
HIS FAME TO THE COUNTRY WHICH HONORS AND LAMENTS HIM