{"nrhp_refnum":"97000448","name":"Clark, George Rogers, Sculpture","other_names":["VDHR No. 104-0252"],"category":"object","location":{"address":"Monument Square, bounded by University and Jefferson Park Aves. and the railroad tracks","address_restricted":false,"city":"Charlottesville","county":"Albemarle County","state":"VA","lat":38.033292037000024,"lon":-78.49890148899993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-05-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A heroic-sized bronze sculptural group of George Rogers Clark on a pink granite pedestal, erected 3 November 1921 in Monument Square, a small triangular park at the eastern edge of the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Virginia.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is an important art object showing the figurative style of outdoor sculpture by members of the National Sculpture Society, a group linked to the City Beautiful movement. It was the fourth of four sculptures commissioned by Paul Goodloe McIntire between 1919 and 1924, and the only one given to the University of Virginia. It is significant at the state level and retains its historic integrity.","narrative":"Set in a small triangular park at the eastern edge of the University of Virginia campus, this bronze group shows frontiersman George Rogers Clark on horseback, reining in his stallion as he meets three Native Americans. Three members of his party crouch and peer from behind the horse with weapons pointed downward. Sculptor Robert Ingersoll Aitken designed the work and its rustic pink granite pedestal, which is inscribed \"Conqueror of the Northwest.\" The figures were cast by the Gorham Company, and the group stands about 24 feet high. Philanthropist Paul Goodloe McIntire commissioned it in 1919 and it was erected in 1921. It was the fourth of four sculptures he commissioned from National Sculpture Society members, and the only one given to the university. Aitken won the Watrous Medal from the National Academy of Design for it in 1921. It is valued as a significant example of figurative outdoor sculpture from the late City Beautiful movement.","period_of_significance":"1919-1924","architect_builder":"Aitken, Robert","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Retains integrity; bronze figures show a green patina after more than 75 years of exposure, and mature trees in the park obscure the sculpture from all but the University Avenue side.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:59.742502-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/19/6786/41678619/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/97000448.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000448/430cfe2021-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000448/430cfe2021-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Smash the Iron Cage","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Rogers_Clark_Monument_01_(cropped).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Smash the Iron Cage</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Rogers_Clark_Monument_01_(cropped).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41678619","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Rogers_Clark_Monument","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712354"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/albemarle-county/clark-george-rogers-sculpture-97000448/"}