The Nathaniel Hawthorne statue is a monument on Hawthorne Boulevard in Salem, Massachusetts.
Erected in 1925, the monument is dedicated to local author Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was born in Salem in 1804 and was the descendant of notorious Salem Witch Judge John Hathorne. Hawthorne was the author of books such as The House of the Seven Gables and The Scarlet Letter.
Designed by Bela Lyon Pratt, the monument is a twelve-foot-high granite and bronze statue that features a seated life-size figure of Nathaniel Hawthorne, sitting on a rock, wearing a double-breasted coat and cape with a cane and hat in hand.
The sculptor chose to portray Hawthorne seated on a rock looking at the sea because that was one of his favorite things to do in Salem, according to an interview with Pratt in a news report in the Springfield Weekly Republican:
“In designing the portrait figure of Nathaniel Hawthorne I have kept in mind the great genius isolated by conditions and his own brooding spirit from those about him. It was his habit when in Salem to walk alone by the sea and sit for hours looking across the water. It is thus I have chose to portray him, sitting on the rocks by the sea…”
The figure is cast in bronze and rests on an octagonal base of Rockport granite. The base of the bronze is inscribed with the words Bela Pratt 1916. The pedestal was cut and erected by the Rockport Granite Company and is inscribed with the words “Nathaniel Hawthorne 1806–1864.”
The sculptor, Bela Lyon Pratt, studied at the Yale School of Fine Arts and was a teacher at the Boston Museum School.
The monument was proposed by the Hawthorne Memorial Association, which was incorporated in 1910 in order to erect and maintain the statue. The bronze figure cost around $50,000 to cast.
Although the original plan was to place the statue on Salem Common, this didn’t come to fruition, and the statue was instead placed in front of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1913.
After being on display in front of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for 12 years, it was purchased by the Hawthorne Memorial Association for $20,000 and moved to Hawthorne Boulevard in Salem in November of 1925, where it was dedicated on December 23, 1925.
Six of Hawthorne’s descendants attended the dedication ceremony, including his grandson John Hawthorne, his great-grandson Manning Hawthorne, and his great-granddaughter, 15-year-old Rosamond Mikkelson of Danbury, Connecticut, who unveiled the statue.
In 2017, the monument was restored by sculptor Robert Shure, who cleaned the granite base, repointed the joints of the granite, cleaned the bronze figure and renewed the bronze’s patina, and applied protective coatings of incralac and wax to the bronze.
Sources:
“Salem Unveils Statue of Nathaniel Hawthorne.” The Evening Sentinel, 23 Dec. 1925, p. 1.
“Statue of Nathaniel Hawthorne Unveiled at Seashore in Salem.” Clinton Herald, 16 Feb. 1926, p. 12.
“Nathaniel Hawthorne Returns to Salem.” New York Times, 22 Nov. 1925, p. 110.
“Nathaniel Hawthorne Returns.” New York Times, 19 Nov. 1925, p. 41.
“Salem Unveils Statue to Nathaniel Hawthorne.” Lewiston Evening Journal, 23 Dec. 1925, p. 1.
“Nathaniel Hawthorne Statue Proposed for Salem Common.” The Boston Post, 14 Dec. 1911, p. 9.
“Hawthorne Statue Cast.” The Boston Post, 9 Apr. 1916, p. 44.
“A Memorial to Hawthorne.” Springfield Weekly Republican, 19 Dec. 1912, p. 6.
“Statue of Hawthorne for Salem.” The Sun, 7 Jan. 1912, p. 24.
“Funds to Erect Statue of Nathaniel Hawthorne.” The Washington Observer, 13 Dec. 1911, p. 9.
“Historic Statue Detail: SAL.924 Hawthorne, Nathaniel Monument.” MACRIS, mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=SAL.924
“Nathaniel Hawthorne Statue Restoration.” Robert Shure, robertshuresculptor.com/project/nathaniel-hawthorne-statue-restoration/
“Hawthorne Memorialized.” Historic Salem INC, historicsalem.org/news-and-opinion/hawthorne-memorialized