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Thomas Wildey Monument, (sculpture).
Artist: Durang, Edward F., sculptor.
Title: Thomas Wildey Monument, (sculpture).
Other Titles: Wildey Monument, (sculpture).
Dates: 1865. Rededicated June 11, 1997.
Medium: Sculpture: marble; Base: marble and granite with bronze medallions.
Dimensions: Overall: approx. H. 52 ft.
Inscription: (On southwest side:) THOMAS WILDEY/BORN JANUARY 15, 1782 (On southeast side:) THOMAS WILDEY/DIED OCTOBER 19, 1861 (On northeast side:) THE SITE FOR THIS MONUMENT/WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED BY THE MAYOR/AND CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE/ANNO DOMINI/MDCCCLXV (On northwest side:) HE WHO REALIZES THAT THE/TRUE MISSION OF MAN ON EARTH/IS TO RISE ABOVE THE LEVEL OF INDIVI-/DUAL INFLUENCE AND TO RECOGNIZE THE FATHERHOOD/OF GOD OVERALL AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN IS NATURE'S TRUE NOBLEMAN (On medallion, north side:) THIS COLUMN/ERECTED BY THE JOINT/CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE LODGES/ENCAMPMENTS AND INDIVIDUAL/MEMBERS OF THE/INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODDFELLOWS/OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/AND/ JURISDICTIONS THEREUNTO BELONGING/COMMEMORATES/THE FOUNDING OF THAT ORDER IN/ THE CITY OF BALTIMORE ON THE/26th DAY OF APRIL 1819/BY/THOMAS WILDEY
Description: The monument consists of a tall doric column topped by a standing female figure representing Charity. Charity holds a small child in her proper left arm and looks down at another child standing by her proper right side. At the base of the column, there are four bronze medallions.
Subject: Homage -- Wildey, Thomas
Figure group
Allegory -- Quality -- Charity
Object Type: Outdoor Sculpture -- Maryland -- Baltimore
Sculpture
Owner: Administered by City of Baltimore, Recreation and Parks, 2600 Madison Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21217
Located Median of Broadway at Fayette Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230
Remarks: Thomas Wildey (1882-1861) rose quickly through the chairs of the Odd Fellow Lodge in his native London, and two years after moving to Baltimore, established the first Odd Fellows Lodge in the United States, known as the Washington Lodge Number One. The sculpture was a gift of the Fraternal Order of Odd Fellows. For related information see William Sener Rusk's "Art in Baltimore: Monuments and Memorials," Baltimore: Norman, Remington, 1929; Henry and Caroline Naylor's "Public Monuments & Sculpture of Baltimore: An Introduction to the Collection," 1987; and Wilbur Harvey Hunter's "The Monumental City, The Rinehart School of Sculpture 75th Anniversary Catalogue 1896-1971," pg. 16-47.
References: Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985
The Peale Museum.
Save Outdoor Sculpture, Maryland, Baltimore survey, 1993.
Inventory staff, 2000.
Illustration: Image on file.
Note: The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.
Repository: Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Control Number: IAS 75006042