Statue of the Republic

Coordinates: 41°46′46.6″N 87°34′47.7″W / 41.779611°N 87.579917°W / 41.779611; -87.579917

Statue of the Republic
A one-third scale replica of Republic, a centerpiece of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
Artist Daniel Chester French
Year 1918 (replica of 1893 original)
Type Bronze
Dimensions 730 cm (24 ft)
Location Jackson Park, Chicago, Illinois

The Statue of the Republic is a 24-foot-high (7.3 m) gilded bronze sculpture in Jackson Park, Chicago, Illinois. It is a smaller-scale replica constructed in 1918 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where the original statue was, and commemorates the Illinois statehood centennial.[1] The statue was funded by the Benjamin Ferguson Fund,[2] which commissioned Daniel Chester French, the sculptor of the original 65-foot-tall (20 m) statue that stood on the grounds of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, to sculpt this replica. Henry Bacon, the architect of the Lincoln Memorial, designed the festooned pedestal for the replica statue.[3]

Daniel Chester French's original statue The Republic at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, facing the Administration Building across the Great Basin. This version had a Phyrigian cap drapping on the staff.

The statue's right hand holds a globe; an eagle with wings spread perches on it. The other hand grasps a staff with a plaque that reads "liberty", partly obscured by an encircling laurel wreath. The original at the Exposition had instead a Phyrigian cap on top of the staff. The original was only partly gilded (no gold on the exposed skin of the head, neck and arms), but the new version is completely gilded.[4]

The original statue for the Exposition, constructed in 1893, stood in front of the Court of Honor, inside the Great Basin (pool).[5][1] However, in 1896 the statue succumbed to a fire, destroying it.[6] The current statue stands in the area between the exposition's Electricity and Administration Buildings[7] (both demolished after the exposition), now an intersection, where Richards Drive joins Hayes Drive.

The statue is widely known in Chicago by the colloquial name of the "Golden Lady."[8] It was designated a Chicago Landmark on June 4, 2003.[1]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Republic.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Statue of The Republic". City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division. 2006-03-15. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  2. ↑ Hermann, Andrew (1991-08-09). "Public statues are lumberman's legacy to city". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
  3. ↑ Ira J. Bach and Mary Lackritz Gray, A Guide to Chicago's Public Sculpture, Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1983
  4. ↑ "Jackson Park's The Republic". Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference.
  5. ↑ Original photo
  6. ↑ "Daniel Chester French: The Republic". Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  7. ↑ "Overlay of modern roads". Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference. The new statue is in the northern triangle.
  8. ↑ "Jackson Park". Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved 2012-04-18.
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