George Washington at Trafalgar Square - London, UK
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N 51° 30.521 W 000° 07.654
30U E 699326 N 5710307
On the north east side of Trafalgar square, you will find this George Washington statue.
Waymark Code: WM170G6
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/13/2022
Views: 3
The writing on the statue reads:
Presented to the people of Great Britain and Ireland by the Commonwealth of Virginia 1924.'
This is a bronze statue and is a replica of the statue by Jean Antoine Houdon; this original is a marble statue in Richmond, Virginia. The statue we see here in London was donated in 1921 by the 'Commonwealth of Virginia'.
"Outside the National Gallery in London sits the strangest statue in Trafalgar Square, or maybe all of England. It's not bizarre because of its design or composition, but instead for whom the statue honors.
It is a replica, one of 25 or more, spread around the world. But it seems strange only in London, considering who it is and where the statue is placed.
It's a statue of George Washington, onetime citizen of Great Britain, father of the United States and rebellious colonial. In a square that marks one of Britain's greatest victories stands a reminder of one of its greatest defeats.
Washington's statue is not only there, but it's resplendent with symbols of authority, like the 13 wooden rods on which he leans (also a symbol of the 13 colonies). It's just hanging out in a square owned by the crown -- and built on soil shipped in from the state of Virginia.
The statue was presented to the British as a gift in 1921, when relations between the United States and the United Kingdom were much, much better than they had been in 1783. It's an exact replica of an original statue commissioned by Thomas Jefferson, which can still be seen in the Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond.
In fact, 25 casts of the statue have been made and spread all over the world, from the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., to Lima, Peru and, of course, London's Trafalgar Square."
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