Antonio Canova created the marble statue of George Washington for the North Carolina State Capitol. Commissioned by North Carolina in 1815, the work was made by the Venetian-Italian Neoclassical sculptor in Rome and completed in 1820. It showed Washington seated in the guise of an ancient Roman military leader, combining a modern American subject with classical ideals.
Thomas Jefferson helped recommend Canova for the commission, and the sculptor used a bust by Giuseppe Ceracchi as a reference for Washington’s head. The statue portrayed Washington holding a tablet and quill, evoking the writing of his farewell address, while a sword and baton rested nearby. It was transported across the Atlantic and installed in Raleigh on December 24, 1821.
The original did not survive long. A fire destroyed the North Carolina State House and Canova’s statue on June 21, 1831. A plaster replica is held by the North Carolina Museum of History, while a later marble copy by Romano Vio stands in the present capitol. Canova’s Washington was his only work created for the United States.