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Robert Emmet was an Irish nationalist and Republican, orator and rebel leader born in Dublin, Ireland. He led an abortive rebellion against British rule in 1798. In 1803 he was captured, tried and executed for high treason.
The Emmet statue shows the 25 year old making his famous “Speech from the Dock” during his sentencing.
The artist was Gerome Connor who created the bronze in 1916. The statue was a gift of Senator James Duval Phelan. The piece was cast by the Bureau Brothers Foundry of Philadelphia and the granite pedestal and platform were designed by architect Charles E. Gottschalk.
Gerome Connor was born in 1874 in County Kerry, Ireland. At the age of 14 his father sold the family farm moved the family to Holyoke Massachusetts, a typical destination for emigrants from this part of Ireland. In 1899 Gerome joined the Roycroft arts community, where he assisted with blacksmithing and later started creating terracotta busts and reliefs and eventually, he was recognized as Roycroft’s sculptor-in-residence. After four years at Roycroft, he went on to work with Gustav Stickley and became well known as a sculptor being commissioned to create civic commissions in bronze. Connor was a self-taught artist who was highly regarded in the United States where most of his public works can be seen. He died in Ireland in 1943 of heart failure, and reputedly in poverty.
Do you have a large Irish population there?
So many artists die in poverty. But the reality show actors die on TV, rich as can be! Life ain’t fair.
What I don’t understand is why this statue is in San Francisco…Why not Holyoke? Just another of life’s conumdrums! 🙂
I had not realized how art rich the park is. This series is quite an education.
How sad that he died so young!
This is an interesting series. So many ethnic groups represented. This Irish patriot died very young, but made an impact, didn’t he?