NEWBURYPORT — The Smithsonian National Museum of American History last week confirmed that ownership of the iconic William Pitt statue, the only remaining figure from the 1801 Lord Timothy Dexter house, has been transferred to the Museum of Old Newbury. Though the statue has been on loan to the museum since it was part of an exhibition in 1994, its future remained unclear until the Jan. 2 declaration, according to Museum of Old Newbury Executive Director Bethany Groff Dorau.
The statue’s story is intertwined with the lives of two other men, one an eccentric merchant, and the other a talented woodcarver, best known for his figureheads. The merchant, Lord Timothy Dexter, who styled himself “the greatest philosopher in the known world,” hired the woodcarver, Joseph Wilson, to help him create a lasting, if somewhat off-beat, exhibition, featuring monumental figures on pedestals surrounding Dexter’s house. Dexter intended the museum to impress and inspire, and it would showcase Dexter’s heroes and represent his ideals. It was also a brilliant piece of self-promotion, as it encouraged tourism to the town where Dexter owned shares in roads and bridges, according to Dorau.
After Dexter’s death in 1806, the statues fell into disrepair. Several were sold, including William Pitt. The statue resurfaced in 1880 and again in 1944, when it was purchased by folk art collector Edna Little Greenwood. It was donated by Greenwood to the Smithsonian in 1951 in poor condition – damaged by rot and carpenter ants and filled with concrete. After restoration in 1959-60, the statue went on display in the Smithsonian’s Life in Early America exhibition hall. The statue was loaned to the Museum of Old Newbury as part of an exhibition in 1994, and the loan has been renewed since then, but the future of the piece remained unclear.
The statue, described as a one-of-a-kind example of early American outdoor sculpture, is a treasured part of the museum’s collection of Dexter ephemera and will remain the highlight of its tours and interpretation, Dorau continued.
For more information contact Bethany Groff Dorau at the Museum of Old Newbury, 978-807-2932 or 978-462-2681.