| Alexander Hamilton | |
|---|---|
 Ceracchi's original bust ofHamilton,Alexander Hamilton, on display atCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art inBentonville, Arkansas | |
| Artist | Giuseppe Ceracchi |
| Year | 1794 (1794) |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Medium | White marble |
| Subject | Alexander Hamilton |
| Dimensions | 63.5 cm × 35.6 cm × 30.5 cm (25.0 in × 14.0 in × 12.0 in) |
Alexander Hamilton is amarblebust portrait ofAmerican Founding FatherAlexander Hamilton, done in the style of aRoman Senator, by theItalian sculptorGiuseppe Ceracchi.[1] Ceracchi also created many replicas, in both marble andplaster. The bust was later used as a model for several notable sculptures, paintings, and other works featuring Hamilton.
In 1791 or 1792, Ceracchi created a now-lostterracotta model ofAlexander Hamilton, anAmerican Founding Father and the firstU.S. Secretary of the Treasury duringGeorge Washington's presidency.[2] His initial work on the model was completed during Ceracchi's stay inPhiladelphia, then the post-Revolutionary capital of the new nation.
The work was then sent to Rome, where Ceracci created the marble version. In July 1792, he wrote Hamilton, saying he was "impatient to receive the clay that I had the satisfaction of forming from your witty and significantphysiognomy".[3]
In 1794, Ceracchi returned to the United States, where he delivered the bust to Hamilton. He did not receive payment for it until March 3, 1796, when Hamilton's cash book includes the entry, "for this sum throughdelicacy paid upon cherachi’s draft for making my bust on his own importunity & as a favour to him $620"[4]
The Hamilton family kept the bust until 1896 when it was bequeathed to theNew York Public Library along with a portrait ofGeorge Washington andThe Constable-Hamilton Portrait, painted byGilbert Stuart.[5]
Both works[citation needed] were subsequently sold together, as requested by the will, on November 30, 2005 to theCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art for over $8 million.[2]
One of the original Ceracchi copies of the bust is now housed atHamilton Grange inNew York City. The original is on display at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art inBentonville, Arkansas.[citation needed]
Ceracchi portrayed Hamilton in the style of aRoman Senator, with wavy hair and bare-chested, wearing a ribbon of theSociety of the Cincinnati over his right shoulder.[1][2]
Ceracchi inscribed the original work on the back of inLatin, which reads:[5]
DE FACIE PHILADELPHIAE
EX ECTIPO FLORENCIAE
FACIEBAT JOS. CERACCHI
CIDDCCLXXXXIV
Executed in Philadelphia
and copied inFlorence,
Executed by Joseph Ceracchi,
1794.
Between 1804 and 1808,John Trumbull used the bust as a model for a series of portraits of Hamilton.[6][7]
In 1870, the firstU.S. Postal Servicestamp to honor Hamilton was a 30-cent stamp, which used the bust as a model.[8]
In 1880, the bust then owned by Hamilton's son,John C. Hamilton, was used as a model for the head of thegranite statue byCarl Conrads.[9]
At the Hamilton Grange National Memorial, theNational Park Service installed a touch-screen display that features anavatar modeled after Ceracchi's bust.[10][citation needed]
Ceracchi was born July 4, 1751, inRome and created busts of severalfounding fathers during his 2 visits toPhiladelphia following theAmerican Revolutionary War.[2]
After completing his work in Philadelphia, Ceracchi returned toEurope, visitingFrance, where he had once presentedNapoleon with a bust. However, on his return to France, Napoleon turned against him. After experiencing an unsuccessful plot designed to depose him, Napoleon had Ceracchiguillotined at thePlace de Grève on January 30, 1801, at age 49.[9][11]
