| Italic Title: | no |
| George Washington | |
| Artist: | Donald De Lue |
| Type: | bronze statue |
| Height Imperial: | 112 |
| Width Imperial: | 46 |
| Length Imperial: | 36 |
| Imperial Unit: | in |
| Metric Unit: | cm |
| City: | Indianapolis, IN |
| Museum: | Indiana Statehouse |
| Coordinates: | 39.7676°N -86.1627°W [1] |
| Owner: | State of Indiana |
George Washington (alternately titled George Washington as Master Mason) is a public artwork by American sculptor Donald De Lue, located on the grounds of the Indiana Statehouse, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The bronze statue of George Washington that occupies the Indiana Statehouse south lawn is one of several copies of a 1959 original wax cast at the Modern Art Foundry in Long Island, New York.[2]
The statue depicts Washington dressed in breeches with an apron and medallion decorated with Masonic symbols. Washington holds a tri-cornered hat in the crook of his proper left arm, and a gavel in his proper right hand. He wears an open overcoat with buttons and has a short podium to his proper right. Washington's attire depicts the first President as he may have looked when he laid the cornerstone for the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.[3] The sculpture is mounted upon a stepped, inscribed granite base.
The base of the sculpture is inscribed with the following:
The dimensions of the statue are as follows: 9feet by 46sp=usNaNsp=us x 36sp=usNaNsp=us. The total weight of the statue is 900abbr=offNaNabbr=off. The granite base is 5abbr=offNaNabbr=off tall and weighs approximately 9abbr=offNaNabbr=off. The Statehouse's version of De Lue's bronze statue was a gift of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Indiana, dedicated May 19, 1987.[2] This statue appeared at similar Masonic monuments in the following locations:
A Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture survey completed in October 1992 noted the condition as 'well-maintained'.[3]
George Washington as Master Mason was sculpted initially from a wax mold at Donald De Lue's studio in Leonardo, New Jersey, and copyrighted in 1959. This sculpture was re-cast in 1986 and dedicated May 19, 1987 by the grand master of the Freemasons of Indiana, J.C. Paxton of Warsaw, Indiana. The total cost of the gift was $100,000.[2] Lieutenant Governor John Mutz accepted the statue on behalf of the state.[2] George Washington as Master Mason was inspired by sculptor Bryant Baker's work, Illustrious Brother George Washington, which also depicts the subject in a similar pose with Masonic iconography.