The Smithsonian Inventory of art
(
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describes this work:
"A full-length portrait of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
stands clad in 16th century Noble attire, cloak,
breast-plate, sword of family tree, and high boots.
He holds a drafting tool for measuring map points.
There is also a folded graph is his proper right hand."
and informs us how this replica came to be:
"The sculpture is a recast of an original sculpture
(by Alvaro de Bree) commissioned by the government
of Portugal for the 1939 New York World's Fair.
The original limestone sculpture was shipped to
San Diego, put in storage, repaired and erected
Dec. 19, 1940 on the US Naval Training Center.
On Sept. 28, 1949, the limestone statue was
rededicated at Cabrillo National Monument;
and in 1966, it was moved to the current site
of the replica and installed on a new base.
In 1983, funding was approved for restoration
of the original badly deteriorated sculpture.
In 1985, Charters Almeida and Quintana Art recut
and cast the replica. The new replacement
sculpture was dedicated Feb. 28, 1988; the
original has been given to Lisbon."
and
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, Portuguese: João
Rodrigues Cabrilho (ca. March 13 1499 –
January 3, 1543) was a Portuguese explorer
noted for his exploration of the west coast
of North America on behalf of Spain. Cabrillo
was the first European explorer to navigate
the coast of present day California in the
United States. He accompanied Francisco de
Orozco to subdue the indigenous Mixtec people
at what would eventually become the city of
Oaxaca, in Mexico.[1] Little is known of what
he did there...
On 28 September, he landed in what is now San
Diego Bay and named it "San Miguel"."