Public Art Around the World - Admiral Farragut Monument

Admiral Farragut Monument

Public Art : Admiral Farragut Memorial

Sculptor: © Vinnie "Ream" Hoxie (September 25th, 1847 – January 12th, 1914)

Description : The bronze statue is of David Glasgow Farragut (July 5th, 1801 – August 14th, 1870) who was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. Admiral Farragut is depicted in his Naval Civil War uniform, with telescope in hand. His right foot rests on a ship bollard. Below the plinth are four cannons.

Date Unveiled : It was dedicated on April 25th, 1881 by President James A. Garfield and his wife .

Cost : $20,000

Location : The statue can be found in downtown DC in Farragut Square, Washington DC, USA.

Who Was Admiral David Glasgow Farragut? : Remember the famous line "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" well that was compliments of David G. Farragut, a Union admiral in the American Civil War.

Who Was Vinnie Ream? Vinnie Ream, whose real name was Lavinia Ellen Ream Hoxie, was the first and youngest female artist to receive a commission from the United States government for a statue. At 18, she was awarded the commission for the full-size Carrara marble statue of Lincoln by a vote of Congress on July 28, 1866. When she was 16 President Lincoln had modelled for her .

She was also one of the first women to be employed by the federal government, as a clerk in the dead letter office of the United States Post Office during the American Civil War.

She modelled the Lincoln statue in the basement of the Capitol building. On completion she travelled to Europe to produce a finished marble figure, from the plaster model. During her travels she studied in Paris with French painter Leon Bonnat. The statue was completed in 1870 and unveiled in january the following year.

After lobbying William Tecumseh Sherman, and Mrs. Farragut, she won a competition to sculpt, Admiral David G. Farragut.

Ream designed the first free-standing statue of a Native American, Sequoyah.

Both ream and her husband Richard Hoxie are buried at Arlington cemetery.

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