Lot 68
[Washington, George] Bronze Bust - Identical Copy of Houdon Bust at Mount Vernon, Height: 18 in., width: 13 in., depth: 9 in., on black marble base. 19th century. Engraved on the flat portion at the back of the bust is a "Certificate and Oath" New York City, May 6th, 1898, swearing that the bust is "a perfect reproduction of the Life-Cast Bust of Washington, cast and modeled from life at Mount Vernon, Va., in the year 1785, by the eminent French sculptor, Jean Antoine Houdon…." The notary name and seal are engraved. At lower left is "The Henry-Bonnard Bronze Co…. (Copyright 1898)". A copy of the same bust is in the headquarters of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Washington, D.C.
In 1784, the Virginia legislature resolved to honor Washington's service by having a marble statue made of him. Thomas Jefferson, who was minister to France, recommended French neo-classical sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) who accepted the commission. Houdon insisted upon coming to America to study Washington himself. He arrived on October 2, 1785 at Mount Vernon and stayed for two weeks. First he made a plaster cast of Washington's face (this life mask is in the Morgan Library and Museum in New York), then used the mask to complete the face on his clay bust. The clay bust was left at Mount Vernon when Houdon returned to Paris. Using the life mask, Houdon sculpted the magnificent life-size statue of Washington which was installed in the rotunda of the Capitol building in Richmond in 1796. Ex Claude Harkins Collection.
Estimated Value $10,000 - 15,000
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