John Scoles
Consecrated to the Memory of Gen. Alexander Hamilton

Public Domain

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Artist John ScolesAmerican, born England, c. 1772–1853

CultureAmerican

Titles

Consecrated to the Memory of Gen. Alexander Hamilton

Datec. 1805

Printed inUnited States

MediumStipple engraving and line engraving on wove paper

DimensionsPlate: 14 3/4 × 18 3/4 in. (37.5 × 47.6 cm)
Sheet: 15 3/4 × 20 1/4 in. (40 × 51.4 cm)

Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by Sharon Grimm Dies In honor of Dr. Lauren Dies Brollier

Object numberB.2019.8

Current Location

Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens

Federal Parlor

On view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

PRINTS

DescriptionFollowing George Washington’s death in 1799, there was a tremendous outpouring of memorial prints and imagery, but similar prints related to Alexander Hamilton are much rarer. Along with the central obelisk dedicated to Hamilton, this print prominently features representations of both Liberty and Columbia, the former representing the United States’ political and social ideals, and the latter more of a representation of the nation as a whole, as Britannia was for Great Britain. Indeed, Britannia served as the model for early representations of Columbia, with appropriate revisions to her attributes. Both Liberty and Columbia demonstrate the evolution of America’s allegorical personification, which before the Revolution was exemplified by a female Native American figure together with attributes such as an alligator and tobacco leaves.
ProvenanceKenneth Newman collection; [The Old Print Shop, New York]; purchased by MFAH, 2019.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Recto: Inscribed in printed ink, in plate, upper center: AH [cursive]
Recto: Inscribed in printed ink, in plate, lower center: GEN. HAMILTON / DEPARTED THIS LIFE / JULY 12th. / 1804
Recto: Inscribed in printed ink, below plate, center: CONSECRATED to the MEMORY of GEN. ALEXANDER HAMILTON.
Recto: Inscribed in printed ink, below plate, right: J. Scoles sculpt.

Recto: [none]
Verso: [none]

Watermark: [none]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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