Existing comment:
Henry Clay
Joel Tanner Hart, 1847; completed in 1859
Height -- 77 1/4 inches
Inscription -- On front of base "HENRY CLAY"; on back of base at lower left "J.T. Hart, Sculpt.r. 1847."
The Statesman:
Born in Hanover County, Virginia, Henry Clay gained national prominence after his move to Kentucky in his early twenties. A Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and a leading member of the U.S. Senate, Clay ran unsuccessfully for President in 1824, 1832, and 1844. Extolling policies of economic growth that led to the creation of the Whig Party, Clay came to be known as the "Great Compromiser," in recognition of his ability to preserve the Union with bipartisan support during times of political division.
The Statue:
Led by Lucy Maria Barbour, widow of Virginia Governor James Barbour, the Virginia Association of Ladies organized in 1844 to erect a statue of Henry Clay in Capitol Square. After a series of delays, the statue was finally completed and dedicated on Clay's birthday, April 12, 1860. (Clay had died eight years earlier.) The statue was originally housed in a cast-iron gazebo, which by 1930 had become unstable. The gazebo was razed and the Clay statue was moved into the Capitol's Old Hall of the House of Delegates. It was relocated to the Capital Extension in 2008. |