Garfield Monument

The monument stands in the circle at First Street, S.W., and Maryland Avenue, where it was unveiled on May 12, 1887. It was incorporated into the U.S. Capitol Grounds in 1975 (Public Law 93-198, December 24, 1973, 87 Stat. 828, effective January 2, 1975).

The tapered, cylindrical granite pedestal holds four over-life-size bronze figures, with the portrait statue of James A. Garfield at the top and three allegorical figures representing different phases of his career below.

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Garfield is depicted in giving a speech, gazing intently outward with a sheaf of papers in his left hand, his right hand rests on a book on a draped column. The toe of one shoe projects over the edge of the base, giving the work a sense of vigor and movement.

Below the portrait statue, a figure of the young student, draped in a sheep skin, suggests Garfield's early work as a teacher. A figure of the bearded, middle-aged warrior, wearing a wolf skin, represents his Saxon ancestry and his military career during the Civil War. A figure of the older statesman, dressed in a toga and holding a tablet inscribed "Law/Justice/Prosperity," symbolizes Garfield's achievements as congressman, senator, and president.

A bronze plaque with related symbols is mounted above each figure, and a unifying bronze garland encircles the pedestal.

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Commissioned in 1884 by the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, of which Garfield had been a member, almost $28,000 was raised to pay the sculptor. Some of the funds were raised by The Garfield Monument Fair, which was held in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda and Statuary Hall in 1882. That same year, Congress appropriated $7,500 in funds to the Society from the sale of condemned cannons (22 Stat. 28, signed March 11, 1882); in 1884 it appropriated $30,000 for the pedestal (Sundry Civil Appropriation Act of July 7, 1884, 23 Stat. 216). 

Sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward was known for his portraits and for working directly from nature rather than from classical art, and his portrait of Garfield is particularly life-like since the two men were friends. The reclining figures were influenced by Michelangelo's Medici Tomb, while the overall composition shows awareness of the French Beaux-Arts style. Ward created convincing details of form and texture as well as a dynamic sculptural composition.

Conservation Efforts

The conservation treatment carried out in 1992 was the first that the Garfield Monument has undergone. In the century since the work's unveiling, its bronze elements developed a layer of light green and black corrosion. This disfiguring corrosion remains active in the presence of moisture and pollutants.

The conservation of the monument included the use of low-pressure water to remove most of the loose corrosion layer from the bronze surfaces. After a corrosion inhibitor was applied, the bronze was repatinated to the dark brown color indicated by historical research and comparison with other statues by Ward cast by the same foundry. The bronze was protected from further corrosion by an acrylic lacquer and wax. Repairs were also made to the lead joints and the surrounding sidewalks and curbs. These efforts ensured that, for the first time in many decades, John Quincy Adams Ward's monument has the appearance he intended.

Since 1992 the monument has been regularly washed and waxed. In 2004 the bronze was thoroughly cleaned, patina losses were touched up, and the coatings of Incralac and wax were renewed.