I am honored that my “Minuteman Statue at North Bridge” photograph was selected for the exhibition title wall and brochure for this summer’s art exhibition “The Minute Man: Examining Patriotism, Victory, and Loss” at Chesterwood, the historic summer estate of renowned American sculptor Daniel Chester French in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
French (1850–1931) is best known for his large, iconic statue of the seated Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. He also sculpted the Minuteman statue in Concord, Massachusetts, the subject of my photograph.
Chesterwood is owned and run by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. A guided tour takes you through French’s elegant home, his studio, and beautiful gardens. The exhibition celebrates the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding.
The Minuteman statue is a 7-foot-tall bronze sculpture representing those who fought in the battle against the British Regulars at the Old North Bridge on April 19, 1775. Unveiled on April 19, 1875, for the centennial of the battle, it stands at the Minute Man National Historical Park to honor the farmers and tradesmen who fought for independence. The North Bridge, site of the first skirmish of the Revolutionary War and popularized as the location of the “shot heard ’round the world”, is in the foreground of the scene. The man is leaving his farm plow to his left, striding forward with a rifle in his right hand, signifying how these citizen-soldiers would be called upon to fight for liberty at a moment’s notice. My photograph, taken on a colorful fall day and enhanced with artistic filters, is available for purchase on my Fine Art America online shop.
It is also available as part of my Stamp Treks – New England Edition album on eBay. This is a collection of my images inspired by our nation’s postage stamps.
Each page of the album include a color print of my image, a description of the image and it’s relationship with the stamp, and, in the variation that includes stamps, a genuine mint specimen of the postage stamp. The statue was commemorated in a War Savings stamp issued by the United States Postal Service in 1942.
The album also includes my image of Chesterwood, inspired by the 1940 stamp of French.
Dave Thompsen Photography 