George Washington at Valley Forge

The bronze equestrian statue standing before you represents a departure from the typical, triumphant imagery of George Washington. Sculptor Henry Mervin Shrady chose to depict the general not as a conqueror in a moment of victory, but as a leader burdened by the harsh reality of the winter at Valley Forge. Washington is shown hunched in a heavy cloak, his horse standing with its head bowed, reflecting the desperation and exhaustion of the ten thousand troops who endured that brutal winter of seventeen seventy-seven. This piece was Shrady's first major public work, and he successfully achieved the technical feat of balancing the massive bronze weight of both man and horse on all four legs, a difficult endeavor for any foundry.