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Richard Evelyn Byrd

Richard Evelyn Byrd
Usage Conditions Apply
Artist
Margaret French Cresson, 3 Aug 1889 - 2 Oct 1973
Foundry
Gorham Co. Founders
Sitter
Richard Evelyn Byrd, 25 Oct 1888 - 11 Mar 1957
Date
1927
Type
Sculpture
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
Base: 25 × 25.1 × 18.7 cm (9 13/16 × 9 7/8 × 7 3/8")
With Base: 75.2 × 30.8 × 26.7 cm (29 5/8 × 12 1/8 × 10 1/2")
Topic
Richard Evelyn Byrd: Male
Richard Evelyn Byrd: Natural Resource Occupations\Explorer
Richard Evelyn Byrd: Military and Intelligence\Navy\Officer\Rear Admiral
Richard Evelyn Byrd: Military and Intelligence\Navy\Naval aviator
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Gift of Captain and Mrs. John Gibbons) The Corcoran Gallery of Art, one of the country’s first private museums, was established in 1869 to promote art and American genius. In 2014 the Works from the Corcoran Collection were distributed to institutions in Washington, D.C.
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Object number
NPG.2019.39
Exhibition Label
Richard Evelyn Byrd 1888–1957
Born Winchester, Virginia
Margaret French Cresson, daughter of renowned sculptor Daniel Chester French, completed this bust of naval officer and explorer Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd the same year he received the Medal of Honor from President Calvin Coolidge for his attempted flight across the North Pole. Due to engine trouble, Byrd and his expedition partner may never have reached their destination, although they claimed otherwise. Nevertheless, Byrd later conducted several successful polar expeditions. His historic venture to the South Pole was the subject of an Oscar-winning 1930 documentary.
Nacido en Winchester, Virginia
Margaret French Cresson, hija del renombrado escultor Daniel Chester French, terminó este busto del contralmirante Richard E. Byrd, oficial naval y explorador, el mismo año en que este recibió del presidente Calvin Coolidge la Medalla de Honor por su intento de cruzar en avión el Polo Norte. Debido a problemas mecánicos, es posible que Byrd y su compañero de expedición nunca llegaran a su destino, pero alegaron lo contrario. Byrd condujo más tarde varias expediciones polares exitosas. Su histórico viaje al Polo Sur fue objeto de un documental de 1930, ganador de un Oscar.
Provenance
Captain and Mrs. John Gibbons, 1927-October 1928; Gift to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, October 1928; Gift to NPG, 2019.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view