James Monroe - Charlottesville, Va
Posted by: 
LJParr
N 37° 58.959 W 078° 27.311
17S E 723498 N 4206945
Statue of James Monroe, fifth President of the United States, located at Ash Lawn-Highland, Charlottesville, Virginia
Waymark Code: WM8JC0
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 04/09/2010
Views: 5
The statue is located at Ash Lawn-Highland near the parking lot but access is by paid admission only.
The statue has a interesting history.
The sculpture was commissioned in 1897 by the government of Venezuela to show appreciation for the Monroe Doctrine, which had helped avert a war between Venezuela and England. The sculpture was to be erected in Caracas, but an uprising that defeated the Crespo regime left no buyer for the sculpture. The sculpture remained in the sculptor's studio for the next 32 years, until it was acquired by Pittsburgh philanthropist Jay Winston Johns, who had recently purchased Monroe's home, Ash Lawn-Highland. Piccirilli gave Johns the Monroe statue as a gift to his adopted country. For many years, the sculptor visited Ash Lawn-Highland each fall in order to wrap the figure in canvas to protect it from damaging winter weather; each spring the sculptor returned to remove the canvas.
Description from the Inventory:
Standing portrait of James Monroe with his proper right arm extended and his proper left hand resting on a column. In his proper right hand he holds a manuscript. His proper right foot is forward. The sculpture stands atop a semicircular base.
Inscriptions:
Attilio Piccirilli sc 1931
JAMES MONROE
1758-1831
TITLE: James Monroe, (sculpture)
ARTIST(S): Attilio Piccirilli
DATE: Commissioned 1897. Dedicated April 25, 1932.
MEDIUM: Figure: Carrara marble; Base: Georgia marble; Foundation: concrete.
CONTROL NUMBER: IAS 76009844
Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link]
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
1000 James Monroe Parkway, Charlottesville, VA
DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH:
Fingers on right hand are broken.
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Visit Instructions:
Please give the date of your visit, your impressions of the sculpture, and at least ONE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH. Add any additional information you may have, particularly any personal observations about the condition of the sculpture.