Boy Scout Statue - Irving, Texas
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txoilgas
N 32° 53.137 W 096° 58.207
14S E 689883 N 3640433
Located at the front entrance of the National Headquarters of the Boy Scouts.
Waymark Code: WM7PZV
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 11/20/2009
Views: 28
The Boy Scout statue was originally created as a statuette in 1914 at the suggestion of Dr. Charles D. Hart, then president of the Philadelphia Council. An updated life-sized version, from which this piece is cast, was created in 1937 for the opening of the Philadelphia Council's new headquarter's building (IAS record 88320102). A total of five Boy Scouts posed for the statue between 1914 and 1937, and the final statue is a composite of its models. IAS files contain excerpt from Scout Memorabilia, n.d., which details history of Tait's Scout statues, and related unpublished essay by Turner Moon.
The Texas statue was originally a 1955 gift of the Scouts and Scouters of the Philadelphia Boy Scout Council to the National Council Headquarters in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It was sent to Texas in 1979.
Inscription:
R. Tait McKenzie 1937
Modern Art Fdry N Y
(On plaque on base, left:)
Sealed herein/Are the names
of the/Scouts and Scouters
of the/Philadelphia Council
Who donated this statue
1955
(On plaque on base, right:)
Presented by
Scouts and Scouters
of the
Philadelphia
Council/1954
Description:
Standing figure of a uniformed Boy Scout, including scarf, shorts, knee socks and hat, which he holds to his chest with his proper right hand. His proper left hand is on a hatchet which hangs from a tool belt on his hip.
TITLE: Boy Scout Statue
ARTIST(S): McKenzie, R. Tait, 1867-1938, sculptor, Modern Art Foundry, founder.
DATE: Original cast 1937. Recast 1954. Dedicated 1955. Relocated 1979
MEDIUM: Sculpture: bronze; Base: native field stone
CONTROL NUMBER: IAS TX000225
Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link]
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
Boy Scouts of America National Office
1325 West Walnut Hill Lane
Irving, Texas 75038
DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH:
Appears in very good condition however both the sculpture and the base could use a treatment.
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