Washington Irving - Irvington, NY
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neoc1
N 41° 02.884 W 073° 51.679
18T E 595696 N 4544717
A bust of American short story writer, essayist, biographer, and magazine editor, Washington Irving, is the central sculpture of the Washington Irving Memorial located on the west side of Route 9 at Broadway and Sunnyside Lane in Irvington, NY.
Waymark Code: WMTMAZ
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 12/10/2016
Views: 0
In the center of the Washington Irving Memorial a curved pink granite wall with a pedestal that holds a 34 by 32 by 13 inch bronze bust of Washington Irving set on a bronze plinth. Irving is depicted wearing a coat and an ascot tie and looking straight ahead. On Irving's right side is a 6' high bronze relief sculpture of Boabdil on Irving's left side is a 6' high bronze relief sculpture of Rip Van Winkle.
The Washington Irving Memorial was commissioned in 1926, sculpted by Daniel Chester French, the architect was Charles Platt Adams, it was cast at the Gorham Manufacturing Company, and fabricated by Piccirilli Brothers Marble Carving Studios. It was dedicated on June 27, 1927, rededicated June 27, 1977 and rededicated once again on October 25, 1998.
On a granite pedestal below the bust is a bronze wreath and the inscription:
WASHINGTON
IRVING
1783-1859
ESSAYIST POET
HISTORIAN TRAVELLER
DIPLOMATIST SOLDIER
THE FIRST AUTHOR OF
OUR REPUBLIC
A bronze plaque at ground level is inscribed:
WASHINGTON IRVING MEMORIAL
WASHINGTON IRVING WAS THE FIRST OF EARLY AMERICA'S GREAT
AUTHORS. THIS MONUMENT IS A TESTAMENT TO NOT ONLY TO IRVING, BUT
ALSO TO THE IMAGINATION AND TENACITY OF JENNY PRINCE BLACK, A
PROMINENT IRVINGTON CITIZEN, WHO WORKED FOR YEARS TO MAKE
IT A REALITY. IT ALSO MANIFESTS THE ARTISTRY OF SCULPTOR
DANIEL CHESTER FRENCH, THE CREATOR OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL.
AMONG OTHER PROMINENT WORKS. THE ARCHITECT FOR THE IRVING
MONUMENT WAS FRENCH'S LONGTIME COLLABORATOR, CHARLES PLATT
ADAMS. THE LAND WAS DONATED BY HENRY GRAVES, JR. MRS. BLACK LED
THE FUND-RAISING, WHICH RANGED FROM A GENEROUS CONTRIBUTION
BY JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, JR. TO PENNIES FROM SCHOOL CHILDREN.
THE MONUMENT WAS COMPLETED AND DEDICATED IN 1927. AFTER
MORE THAN 50 YEARS OF CORROSION, THE MONUMENT WAS RESTORED BY
IRVING LANDMARK PRESERVATION, INC., WITH SUPPORT FROM
THE VILLAGE OF IRVINGTON AND FROM SAVE OUTDOOR SCULPTURE OF
WASHINGTON D.C. THE MONUMENT WAS REDEDICATED IN A VILLAGE
CEREMONY IN 1998. AS A MASTERPIECE OF DANIEL CHESTER FRENCH,
IT IS LISTED ON THE NEW YORK STATE AND NATIONAL REGISTER OF
HISTORIC PLACES.
IRVINGTON LANDMARK PRESERVATION, INC.
Washington Irving was the first of the great American authors. He was born in New York City on April 3, 1783. At age 19 he began writing commentaries to the New York Morning Chronicle on the New York City's social and theater scene under the name of Jonathan Oldstyle. In 1807 he and his brother William and James Kirke Paulding created the literary magazine Salmagundi. He lampooned New York culture and politics under various pseudonyms, such as William Wizard and Launcelot Langstaff. His first major work was the satire A History of New-York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, written under the name Diedrich Knickerbocker in 1809. He then wrote biographies of naval heroes such as James Lawrence and Oliver Perry for Analectic Magazine.
In 1819 Irving wrote the work for which he is most famous The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. It introduced the well known character Rip Van Winkle and was a great success. He continued writing in installments and in 1819–1820 wrote "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
Irving became a Minister to Spain in 1852 and spend the remainder of his life writing biographies and travel books. He died in Sunnyside, NY on November 28, 1859 at age 76.
Chronological works of Washington Irving
Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle
Salmagundi
A History of New York (Satire)
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
Bracebridge Hall
Tales of a Traveller
A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus
Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada (History)
Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus
Tales of the Alhambra
The Crayon Miscellany
Astoria
The Adventures of Captain Bonneville
The Life of Oliver Goldsmith
Biography and Poetical Remains
of the Late Margaret Miller Davidson
Lives of Mahomet and His Successors
Wolfert's Roost
Diedrich Knickerbocker
The Life of George Washington (5 volumes)