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Daniel Webster

A work made of bronze.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of bronze.

Date:

Modeled and cast 1853

Artist:

Thomas Ball
American, 1819–1911
Cast by J. T. Ames
Chicopee, Massachusetts

About this artwork

Thomas Ball modeled Daniel Webster prior to receiving his first formal training in sculpture. A Massachusetts native, Ball admired the great orator and was inspired to create this full-length statuette a year after Webster’s death. Despite the mid-19th-century taste for Neoclassicism, Ball rendered his figure with decided naturalism. Webster stands assuredly with his right hand tucked Napoleon-like into his lapel, yet Ball likewise portrayed the senator’s rumpled clothing and round waistline. A commercial success, Daniel Webster was one of the earliest sculptures in the U.S. to be patented and mass-produced. The artwork later inspired two monumental versions, one of which stands in Central Park in New York.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Thomas Ball (Sculptor)

Title

Daniel Webster

Place

Boston (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1853

Medium

Bronze

Inscriptions

Incised at back of drapers: "T Ball Sculpt/Boston Mass/1853/Patent assigned to / C W Nichols"

Dimensions

76.2 × 30.4 × 27.9 cm (30 × 12 × 11 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Richard and Mary L. Gray

Reference Number

1986.1347

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/109442/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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