Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Bust |
Title |
Beriah Magoffin |
Catalog Number |
1904.17 |
Creator |
Dexter, Henry |
Date |
1860 |
Material(s) |
Marble |
Dimensions |
H-27.75 W-23 D-12.5 inches |
Description |
This is a marble portrait bust of Governor Beriah Magoffin. He is depicted draped with a toga-like garment that sits on his left shoulder and wraps completely around his shoulders. His hair is parted on his right side and combed back. He has a full beard. An inscription on the right side of the base reads, "Henry Dexter, Fecit./Boston, 1860." |
Notes |
Beriah Magoffin (1815-1885) was the 21st Governor of Kentucky, serving from August 30, 1859 to August 18, 1862. Magoffin County, Kentucky was created in 1860 and is named in his honor. Magoffin was governor when the Civil War began. A Confederate sympathizer with a unionist legislature, he struggled to govern. Magoffin argued Kentucky should stay neutral, but eventually the state supported the Union. Magoffin was forced to resign because of his southern sympathies, but he agreed to go peacefully if James F. Robinson was appointed his successor. Henry Dexter was a self-taught sculptor and portrait painter. According to the "Dictionary of American Biography," in 1857, Dexter was determined to make portrait busts of all governors in the United States. He went to every state, except California and Oregon, to make plaster casts of the governors. He made 31 in all. The Civil War halted his project before he could complete marble portraits of each one. |
Collection |
Magoffin Family Collection |
People |
Magoffin, Beriah, 1815-1885 Dexter, Henry |
Subjects |
Marble Governors Art Sculpting Sculptors Sculpture Marble Politicians |
Search Terms |
Kentucky Governors Politics Politics, Kentucky |
Physical Holder |
Kentucky Historical Society - KHS |