Senator Thomas Hart Benton - Lafayette Park - St. Louis, MO
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member YoSam.
N 38° 36.962 W 090° 12.986
15S E 742352 N 4277844
Plaque on the statue of Thomas Hart Benton is more about the artist, than the statue.
Waymark Code: WMQ8KR
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 01/10/2016
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Geo Ferret
Views: 4
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County of marker: St. Louis Independent City
Location of marker: Lafayette Ave., Lafayette Park - Lafayette Square neighborhood, St. Louis
Statue Artist: Harriet Goodhue Hosmer, 1830-1908, sculptor
Statue Founder: Royal Foundry
Plaque Erected by: Richard and Elizabeth Hosmer Kramer
Plaque erected: 2002

Plaque Text:
Senator Thomas Hart Benton, 1782-1858

Sculpture in bronze by
Harriet Hosmer 1830-1908.
America's First Professional Female Sculptor
Sculpture dedicated in 1868

Harriet Hosmer began her sculpture studies in St. Louis and was the first woman to get a diploma in Anatomy in 1851 from the Missouri Medical College, forerunner of the Washington University School of Medicine. The study of anatomy was important to sculptors of the human form and when she was denied entry into medical schools in the East because of her gender. St. Louis friends helped he bypass these restrictions. While working in Rome, she was commissioned by the State of Missouri to sculpt Missouri's fist public monument. The first United States Senator from Missouri, Thomas Hart Benton, a great champion of westward expansion.

Plaques gift of Richard and Elizabeth Hosmer Kramer, June 2002.

History of Mark:
"This sculpture, the first public sculpture erected in Missouri, was funded by the state of Missouri, private contributions, and the Lafayette Park Commission, for a total cost of $36,000 Benton served in the United States Senate from the beginning of Missouri's existence in 1820 until 1850. The base inscription "There is the East, there is India," is a quote from a speech Benton made, advocating a transcontinental railroad route through St. Louis." ~ Smithsonian American Art Museum

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Additional point: Not Listed
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