Statue du Général Lee – Richmond – USA

Historique

Facing south and located within the Monument Avenue Historic District at the intersection of Monument and North Allen Avenues, Lee Circle, Richmond, VA, the cast bronze equestrian sculpture rises to a height of twenty-one feet over a forty foot granite pedestal.

The unveiling on May 29, 1890, attracted national attention and as many as 150,000 participants. It is the first of six monuments erected along Monument Avenue between 1890 and 1996. The horse was not Lee's favorite wartime horse, Traveller, as some believe.

The statue is the work of renowned French academic sculptor Marius Jean Antonin Mercié, and the pedestal was designed by Paul Pujol, a French architect. The bronze was cast at the foundry of Thubout Frères [ Thiébault] in Paris, France. The pedestal was constructed locally by James Netherwood, a sculptor and quarryman. It is reputed that Bohemian born Casper Buberl embellished the north and south ends with carved stonework. VDHR# 127-0181 http://www.dhr.virginia.gov