Type Bronze Artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens Year 1895 | Dimensions 108.0 cm ( 42 ⁄2 in) Created 1895 | |
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Location Philadelphia, United States Owner City of Philadelphia, Fairmount Park Commission. Commissioned by the Association for Public Art (formerly the Fairmount Park Art Association) Similar Augustus Saint-Gaudens artwork, Other artwork | ||
James Garfield Memorial is an outdoor sculpture of James Garfield by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, located in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park on Kelly Drive below the Girard Avenue Bridge. It is the second monument to be commissioned by the Association for Public Art (formerly the Fairmount Park Art Association). The Fairmount Park Art Association initiated a fund in 1881 for the creation of the memorial following the assassination of President James A. Garfield, and in 1889, Augustus Saint-Gaudens was selected for the commission. The monument was cast in 1895 and dedicated on May 30, 1896 by Mayor Charles F. Warwick. The dedication ceremony included a grand river fete with parades and a flotilla along the Schuylkill River. The monument is one of 51 sculptures included in the Association for Public Art's Museum Without Walls: AUDIO™ interpretive audio program for Philadelphia's outdoor sculpture.
The inscription reads:
A. ST GAUDENS '95 (?)
Cast by the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Co.,
NY 1895
(Front of shield held by figure of Republic:)
E PLVRIBVS
VNVM
JAMES ABRAM
GARFIELD
PRESIDENT OF THE
VNITED STATES
MDCCC
LXXXI
(Base, above Republic's head:)
MDCCCXXXI
MDCCCLXXXI
(Base, below bust:)
MDCCCXCB
(Fairmount Park Art Association plaque appears on the lower front of the base.)
signed Founder's mark appears.