You may have walked by the statue of Alexander Hamilton on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall dozens of times. Did you ever wonder who the three men are in the bas-relief profile on the base?
According to the Smithsonian Museum's database of outdoor sculpture, they are (from right to left) George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.
Here are a few tidbits you may not know about this statue of Alexander Hamilton.
- This sculpture has been located between Arlington and Berkeley Streets on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall since 1865.
- It's one of the few surviving works by Dr. William Rimmer, whose father claimed to be Louis XVII, heir to the French throne.
- In the book, A Guide to Public Art in Greater Boston, Marty Carlock says Rimmer's interest in anatomy led him to a career in medicine which he practiced for a few years. Rimmer became a full-time sculptor at age forty-five.
- This is the only sculpture carved from stone on the Mall. Since Rimmer was self-taught, he used his own technique to create it. According to Public Art Boston, this technique makes the sculpture "particularly fragile and difficult to maintain."
- The Friends of the Public Garden have taken on the responsibility for restoring and then providing annual maintenance of the artwork in The Boston Common, Boston Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue Mall.
- To help The Friends pay for this work, you can contribute to the Henry Lee Conservation Fund.
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2008-2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino