This very figurative sculpture is part of the Washington Monument, located at Eakin's Oval. The artwork was originally dedicated and installed in 1897 at the Green Street entrance to Fairmount Park. In 1928, the monument was relocated to its current location. Thirteen steps lead up to the multi-tiered monument. The main focal point of the statue is Washington himself, depicted sitting on his horse. At the 4 corners of the platform are fountains, with reclining allegorical figures representing 4 rivers: the Delaware, Hudson, Potomac, and Mississippi. Each corner is marked by the placement of pairs of animal sculptures: moose, elk, buffalo, and bulls. The monument was a gift to the City of Philadelphia from the State Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania. Above this in the second tier are the other sculptures, one of which concerns this waymark.
At the second tier is one of two complicated bronze sculpture made up of three principal parts. The central figure is a woman seated in an ornate chair holding a sword in her right hand and two spears in her left. There are men to her right and left, who, quite frankly, don't look right. They look beat-up, tired and plain tuckered out. The man to the left of the woman (her left) hold a musket in his left. The other fellow to her left is lying down, kind of against her, passed out and holding a shovel in his right hand. I Had no clue what any of this was supposed to mean until I found a perfect source written for the dedication ceremony.
The source I found was an actual book, on-line, produced just for the dedication and installation of this wonderful work of art. The website for the book is HERE. There is an excerpt which specifically refer to this sculpture. There is no official name given for it, just a decent description.
The group at the back [on the museum side] is another bas-relief of America, holding in her hands two spears and a sword, showing her sons their condition of slavery and rousing them to go forth to liberty. At her feet are two men, representing her sons, one holds in his hand a shover; the other a musket, showing that for the time peaceful pursuits must be given up for the struggles of war; beneath this group are the arms of Pennsylvania. Page 10.
Every piece of this sculpture is made of bronze. The sculptor was Rudolf Siemering (1835-1905) and the monument was founded by Gegossen Lauchhammer. The monument is 44 feet high. The base is granite and all the critters and George are bronze. The monument was dedicated May 15, 1897 and relocated 1928. This piece was erected by the State Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania. It was originally installed at the Green Street entrance to Fairmount Park, but when the Benjamin Franklin Parkway was finished in 1928, the monument was moved to its current site at the end of the parkway in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Officially, this part of town is known as Eakins Oval (west end).
The monument is located at the very bottom of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and can be easily seen from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Placed on a piece of real estate called Eakins Oval, it is the centerpiece of the oval. There is a huge parking lot to the rear of this where you can stow your car while you wonder around the area and look at all the other fantastic sculptures and monuments. Parking is $12.
Although the traffic patterns have changed dramatically over the last century, this amazing monument is still a very popular roadside attraction for tourists and still for locals. The monument is located at the southwest entrance to the Art Museum.
The monument was donated to the City of Philadelphia by the State Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania, a group of descendants of Revolutionary War officers. Restoration of this astoundingly complex and detailed monument was completed in June of 1997.