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The Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain, located on The Ellipse across from the south lawn of the White House, was designed by renowned sculptor Daniel Chester French and erected through the contributions of their friends in 1913. The monument makes no reference to the Titanic disaster, and is often overlooked despite its prominent location. Major Archibald Butt served in the Spanish-American War and the Philippines before becoming military aide to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. He had been traveling in Europe with his close friend, Francis Davis Millet, a noted decorative artist whose works include murals in the U.S. Customs House in Baltimore, the Minnesota State Capitol, and the Federal Building and Cleveland Trust Company in Cleveland, Ohio. Millet also served as superintendent of decoration for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Both men lost their lives in the sinking, and though well known in Washington’s social and cultural circles at the time of their deaths, are relatively unknown to the public today. |
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| THIS MONUMENT HAS BEEN ERECTED BY THEIR FRIENDS WITH THE SANCTION OF CONGRESS IN MEMORY OF FRANCIS DAVIS MILLET · 1846 - 1912 · AND ARCHIBALD WILLINGHAM BUTT · 1865 - 1912 · |
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| [ inscription around circumference of fountain ] | ||||
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| Authorized by Congress on August 24, 1912, the marble and granite fountain, designed by sculptor Daniel Chester French, was installed in 1913 on the edge of The Ellipse across from the south lawn of the White House. |
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| The bas-relief of an artist holding a palette and brush on one side of the memorial represents the Arts (Francis Millet), while that of a soldier bearing a sword and shield on the other side symbolizes Military Valour (Major Butt). |
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Location of the Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain
The Ellipse, Washington, DC |
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