YORKTOWN, Va., June 30, 2011 – A bronze sculpture depicting George Washington seated on a bench, document in hand, now occupies a place outside the Yorktown Victory Center gallery building, where exhibits span the American Revolutionary period from the Declaration of Independence to the Constitution. Crafted by George and Mark Lundeen, the life-size sculpture is a gift of Douglas Morton and Marilyn Brown of Denver, Colo.
“Our research into the life and look of our subject took us from the low relief on the quarter coin to the many portraits and descriptions of our first president,” said brothers George and Mark Lundeen. In the sculpture, “as he [Washington] looks up from reading the preamble to the Constitution, he sees the United States of America he helped create and so faithfully served.”
The Lundeens are members of the National Sculpture Society. Among their commissions are sculptures of Apollo 13 astronaut Jack Swigert in the National Statuary Hall Collection of the U.S. Capitol and aviation pioneer Elrey B. Jeppesen at Denver International Airport.
“We saw the Yorktown Victory Center as the ideal location for this sculpture,” Mr. Morton said, “with its exhibits that trace Washington’s service from command of the Continental Army to the presidency. We are gratified that the museum will be a permanent home for this magnificent depiction of the father of our country.”
Mr. Morton and Ms. Brown previously loaned a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington for exhibit at the Yorktown Victory Center. Mr. Morton is a graduate of the College of William and Mary, and the couple frequently visits the area. They also are the donors of a statue of Thomas Jefferson located at Merchants Square adjacent to Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area.
The Yorktown Victory Center, a museum of the American Revolution operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia, is located on Route 1020 in Yorktown and is open daily year-round. In addition to gallery exhibits, a timeline walkway chronicles events that led to revolution, and a re-created Continental Army encampment and 1780s farm provide a glimpse of everyday life of the period. For more information, visit www.historyisfun.org or call (888) 593-4682 toll-free or (757) 253-4838.
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