Was this really the famous bust of George Washington that was presented to the American people by the French in 1828?
The original bust, after sitting on the West Front of the Capitol building in Washington DC for 23 years, was in a terrible fire erupted Christmas Eve at the Library of Congress. The burned up bust was discarded and sat as scrap marble in someone’s backyard in the mud and rain for years. Eventually it was sold to James Klaber, a marble dealer, who cleaned it and considered that it was quite a lovely piece. He asked art experts their opinions. They informed him it was indeed art. Mr. Klaber’s son wrote about the bust in Art and Archeology, which eventually resulted in the bust being sold by a New York Gallery to Henry Huntington.
The discovery and sale of George Washington’s famous bust made national news headlines.
In 2010, the Huntington Library had John Griswold, an art
conservator, clean and analyze it. The marble has indeed been exposed to high heat and is crystalized. It has indeed very likely been in a fire.
Could this be the famous marble bust of Washington? A bronze replacement was made after the original disappeared and is on display in the entryway to the House of Representatives at the Capitol.
It has been on display at the Huntington since June of 2011.
From the Huntington Library’s blog:
1827 - The government of France gathers money through national subscription to have Pierre-Jean David, called David d’Angers, sculpt a bust of George Washington to be given to the United States on behalf of the French people.
1828 - David d’Angers sculpts a model for the bust in plaster. Soon afterward, the marble version of the bust is presented to the United States and is said to have been placed on view in the Library of Congress, at the time located on the West Front of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
1851 - Christmas Eve fire breaks out in Library of Congress.
1852 - Marble bust is apparently discarded with debris from the fire.
1904 - French officials give the United States a bronze copy of the bust as a replacement for the marble that was believed destroyed. This bronze bust is presently on display in an entryway to the House Chamber at the Capitol.
1914 - New York–based marble dealer James Klaber acquires the marble for $25 from someone who had kept it in the backyard of his private residence. After cleaning the marble, Klaber asks the advice of art experts who tell him it is a genuine work of art.
1918 - John J. Klaber, son of the marble dealer, writes in Art and Archeology about his father’s discovery and says that the piece is actually a work by David d’Angers, thought to have been lost in the fire of 1851. The bust is given on commission to Mitchell Kennerley of New York’s Anderson Galleries.
1924 - Kennerley sells the marble to Henry E. Huntington. The work’s discovery and sale to Huntington make national headlines.
1984, 2001–07 - The bust is on public view in the loggia near the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art at The Huntington.
2010 - The work is sent to Los Angeles conservator John Griswold for cleaning and routine analysis.
2011 - Griswold determines the bust had been subjected to intense heat, possibly a fire, thereby providing scientific evidence supporting what had been argued about the work in early newspaper articles and other documents. Catherine Hess, chief curator of European art at The Huntington, places the work on public view on June 8 in the Huntington Art Gallery.
1828 - David d’Angers sculpts a model for the bust in plaster. Soon afterward, the marble version of the bust is presented to the United States and is said to have been placed on view in the Library of Congress, at the time located on the West Front of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
1851 - Christmas Eve fire breaks out in Library of Congress.
1852 - Marble bust is apparently discarded with debris from the fire.
1904 - French officials give the United States a bronze copy of the bust as a replacement for the marble that was believed destroyed. This bronze bust is presently on display in an entryway to the House Chamber at the Capitol.
1914 - New York–based marble dealer James Klaber acquires the marble for $25 from someone who had kept it in the backyard of his private residence. After cleaning the marble, Klaber asks the advice of art experts who tell him it is a genuine work of art.
1918 - John J. Klaber, son of the marble dealer, writes in Art and Archeology about his father’s discovery and says that the piece is actually a work by David d’Angers, thought to have been lost in the fire of 1851. The bust is given on commission to Mitchell Kennerley of New York’s Anderson Galleries.
1924 - Kennerley sells the marble to Henry E. Huntington. The work’s discovery and sale to Huntington make national headlines.
1984, 2001–07 - The bust is on public view in the loggia near the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art at The Huntington.
2010 - The work is sent to Los Angeles conservator John Griswold for cleaning and routine analysis.
2011 - Griswold determines the bust had been subjected to intense heat, possibly a fire, thereby providing scientific evidence supporting what had been argued about the work in early newspaper articles and other documents. Catherine Hess, chief curator of European art at The Huntington, places the work on public view on June 8 in the Huntington Art Gallery.
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