William Corcoran was a banker and art collector in Washington. He was also a Southern sympathizer. Thinking discretion was the better part of valor, he spent the Civil War in France. When he returned, he wanted to preserve as much of the Lost Cause as he knew how, so he commissioned a number of artists, all Southerners naturally, to capture the images of every single one of the Confederate generals. Naturally, Moses Ezekiel was near the top of his list and was chosen to do Robert E. Lee. By then, apparently, Ezekiel was in his statuary period and only did a miniature bust of Lee. But since Corcoran planned to hang the paintings in his new gallery, he didn’t mind. Besides, he had decided that Ezekiel would do the statues to fill the niches in the outside walls. The gallery is now the Renwick, part of the Smithsonian,
Renwick Gallery, Washington D.C.
http://americanart.si.edu/. Only two of the statues remain, however, the others were moved to another site.
Moses Ezekiel statue at Renwick
Moses Ezekiel statue at Renwick
