Daniel Webster

During the mid-19th century, Thomas Ball sculpted a bust of Daniel Webster shortly before the Massachusetts senator died. His work was such a success that he made a statuette of the figure that went on to be patented and repeatedly replicated, one of the first mass-produced pieces in the United States.  In the 1870s, Gordon W. Burnham requested that Ball make a larger-than-life-size version of the statue for Central Park. It proved too large for placement on the Mall as its donor intended and was subsequently installed on the West Drive.