HENRY DEXTER (American, 1806-1876)
Governor William Alfred Buckingham (Connecticut, 1804-1875)
sgn. HENRY DEXTER, FECIT / BOSTON/1861
27"h; 23"w at shoulders
Born in Lebanon, Conn., Buckingham was a friend and one of the "war governors" on whom President Lincoln depended on during the Civil War.
Starting in 1848, Buckingham then amassed a fortune in the rubber industry. He was elected mayor of Norwich, Conn. four times. In 1858 he was elected as an anti-slavery Republican governor of Conn. Aided by endorsements from Lincoln, he was re-elected eight times. During the Civil War, under Buckingham's leadership, Conn. exceeded all recruitment and supply goals.
Dexter, born in Nelson, New York was self taught. He moved to Boston in 1836 and opened a portrait studio where he sculpted portraits of well-known persons, including Charles Dickens and President James Buchanan. While living in Cambridgeport, he attempted to sculpt busts of all United States governors in office in 1859-1860 with the intent of offering the collection to Congress. He traveled the states making clay models and plaster molds which he sent back to Cambridge, eventually to sculpt them all in marble. He only completed 33 busts before the Civil War broke out. In 1861 he offered marble copies of these bust for sale to the respective states for $500 each. After his death, his daughter, Anna, donated the original collection to the Smithsonian Institution in 1889. See Cambridge Public Library's Microfilm file for Cambridge Chronicle, 1889, vol. 44, #2242, page 6 for an article regarding this donation.
Estimate: $1,500 - $2,500
Realized: $750 - Excluding Buyer's Premium
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Lot 188 : HENRY DEXTER (American, 1806-1876)
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