page_title: William Rush
section_title: Public sculpture
hierarchical_section_title: William Rush / Public sculpture
caption_attribution_description: This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 87001293
context_page_description: William Rush was a U.S. neoclassical sculptor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is considered the first major American sculptor. Rush was born in Philadelphia, the fourth child of Joseph Rush, a ship's carpenter, and first wife, Rebecca Lincoln. As a teenager, he apprenticed three years with woodcarver Edward Cutbush, and soon surpassed his master in the art of carving of ships' figureheads in wood. He saw military service during the American Revolution, as an officer in the militia. He opened his own wood carving business, and was in great demand when the U.S. Navy began building ships on Philadelphia. Later in life, he took up sculpture. Rush was one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and taught sculpture there. He was also active in local politics, serving on the Philadelphia City Council for two decades. Rush died in Philadelphia in 1833, and is buried at The Woodlands.
context_section_description: Rush was one of the first to create outdoor public sculpture in the United States. His twin figures, Comedy and Tragedy (1808, Philadelphia Museum of Art), were originally installed in niches on the facade of Philadelphia's Chestnut Street Theater. His Water Nymph and Bittern (1809), was created as a fountain statue for the Center Square Waterworks, designed by Benjamin Latrobe, that stood at what is now the site of Philadelphia City Hall.
  The Schuylkill Permanent Bridge (Market Street Bridge) in Philadelphia was adorned with his sculptures of Agriculture and Commerce (1812, whereabouts unknown). Architect William Strickland's Philadelphia Custom House featured a figure named Commerce (1819, whereabouts unknown).
  Rush's sculptures of Wisdom and Justice (by 1825, Fairmount Park Commission) decorated a triumphal arch erected in front of Independence Hall for the 1824 visit of the Marquis de Lafayette. During the Frenchman's 8-day stay in Philadelphia, Rush carved a portrait bust of Lafayette (1824, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts).
  His masterpiece may have been a life-sized statue of the Crucifixion, carved for St. Augustine's Church in 1810. It was destroyed in 1844, when the church was burned during Philadelphia's anti-Catholic riots.
  Rush carved allegorical figures of The Schuylkill Chained (1825) and The Waterworks (1825) for the Fairmount Waterworks. These were installed atop pavilions along the Schuylkill River. Water Nymph and Bittern was moved to the Fairmount Waterworks at about the same time. A bronze casting of the wooden Water Nymph and Bittern statue was made in 1872.
caption: George Washington (1815). Pine, painted white. On display at Independence Hall in the 1870s. Now at Second Bank of the United States.
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