Joseph Wheeler

William Rudolf O'Donovan, Joseph Wheeler, 1895, bronze, 19 ¹⁄₂ x 12 x 6 in. (49.5 x 30.4 x 15.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Henry Clews and Committee of Subscribers, 1921.1.2

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Artwork Details

Title: Joseph Wheeler
Artist: William Rudolf O'Donovan
Date: 1895
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 19 ¹⁄₂ x 12 x 6 in. (49.5 x 30.4 x 15.3 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Henry Clews and Committee of Subscribers
Mediums: bronze
Mediums Description: bronze
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: History — United States — Civil War
Occupation — military — general
Portrait male — Wheeler, Joseph — bust
Portrait male — Wheeler, Joseph — nude
Object Number: 1921.1.2
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1921.1.2

Artwork Description

This bust of General Joseph Wheeler was presented to the Smithsonian Institution in 1921 by a committee that included Joseph H. Choate, Henry Clews, and Theodore Roosevelt. Joseph Wheeler was a Confederate general in the Civil War. He graduated from West Point in 1859, but resigned from the United States Army two years later to fight for the Confederacy. During the war, he was noted for his tireless energy and perseverance despite being wounded three times and having sixteen horses shot from beneath him.