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Daniel Chester French American, 1850-1931 Standing Figure of Daniel Webster, 1931 Signed D C French, dated 1931 and copyrighted on base at rear; stamped indistinctly QLDO(?) Gorham Co beneath the signature Bronze with brown patina Height 11 1/4 inches In 1931, Daniel Chester French was commissioned to sculpt a bronze portrait bust of Daniel Webster. Incomplete at the time of his death in October 1931, the final bronze was finished by French's daughter, Margaret French Cresson. It stands by the Congregational Church in Franklin, New Hampshire, where Webster was born. French was convinced that the monument should include a full-length standing figure of the orator, rather than the proposed portrait bust. By June 1931 he had already made some preliminary sketches or maquettes, which may possibly include the present work. In a letter from July 11, 1931 to Senator George H. Moses, the sculptor wrote, "I am particularly interested in this monument to Webster, so much so that I have been led to make some sketch models, and the more I have considered the subject, the more I am convinced that if it is possible to afford it, there should be a statue rather than a bust or a relief. I feel so strongly about this, and I have developed so keen a desire to deal with the problem, that I feel disposed to make almost any concessions in my price to meet the appropriation available for the monument." We extend our gratitude to Chesterwood, the country home and studio of Daniel Chester French. C A Prominent New York Family