One of the most popular sculptures in Washington is J. Seward Johnson's "The Awakening." In 1980 it was installed in East Potomac Park under a temporary license from the National Park Service, as part of an arts festival.
It remained in this "temporary" location for 27 years, drawing amused crowds.
The statue was probably inspired by this 17th-century work, the
Bassin d'Encelade by Gaspard Marcy, at Versailles.
Then in 2008 the developers of National Harbor, a hotel/marina/convention center complex just below the Wilson Bridge, were looking for a way to get generate some extra buzz around their grand opening and make themselves look like art lovers. They bought the sculpture from Johnson for $750,000 and paid about that much again to dig up the five separate, cast aluminum pieces and move them to their waterfront, and restore the landscape of East Potomac Park. The Washington Post has a
slide show of the move.
The former site of the statue as it looks these days.
And here is the statue in its new home, washed every day by the tide.
I think this is my favorite photo of the sculpture, taken in its former home.
One of the most popular sculptures in Washington is J. Seward Johnson's "The Awakening." In 1980 it was installed in East Potomac Park under a temporary license from the National Park Service, as part of an arts festival.
It remained in this "temporary" location for 27 years, drawing amused crowds.
The statue was probably inspired by this 17th-century work, the Bassin d'Encelade by Gaspard Marcy, at Versailles.
Then in 2008 the developers of National Harbor, a hotel/marina/convention center complex just below the Wilson Bridge, were looking for a way to get generate some extra buzz around their grand opening and make themselves look like art lovers. They bought the sculpture from Johnson for $750,000 and paid about that much again to dig up the five separate, cast aluminum pieces and move them to their waterfront, and restore the landscape of East Potomac Park. The Washington Post has a slide show of the move.
The former site of the statue as it looks these days.
And here is the statue in its new home, washed every day by the tide.
I think this is my favorite photo of the sculpture, taken in its former home.
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