PALM 00015

Hart, Joel Tanner

Henry Clay

1866

Stone

Marble

One of the best—known government figures to hail from the state of Kentucky is Henry Clay (1777—1852), who served as a Kentucky Senator and a member of the United States House of Representatives. Joel Tanner Hart (1810—1877), a Kentucky—born sculptor, first created his monument to Clay for the Ladies Monument Association of Richmond, Virginia, where it now resides in the State Capitol. The sculpture depicts the celebrated orator as if in the act of public address with one hand gesturing towards the audience and the other resting lightly on a small podium slightly behind him. It gained so much acclaim that Hart was asked to create two more versions of the statue for the cities of Louisville and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Henry Clay was commissioned by the Clay Monument Association under the leadership of Henry C. Pindell (1823—1882), a local lawyer and patron of the arts, and paid for by public subscription. Hart completed the statue while working abroad in his studio in Florence, Italy, and sent the statue overseas for the unveiling in Louisville in 1867. Contemporary accounts suggest that the statue brought a great deal of pride to the city. An 1892 article in The Courier—Journal stated that Henry Clay is one of Hart's greatest masterpieces, claiming that "if [Hart] had left no other monument to his fame, the marble figure in the Courthouse would proclaim him a genius." The formidable statue can be seen today in its original location in the rotunda in the Jefferson County Courthouse, known today as Louisville Metro Hall. (KTF)