Philadelphia – The Bond

Designed by James West and made from bronze and concrete, this sculpture was installed outside of the city’s Masonic Temple in 2017. It depicts George Washington showing his masonic apron to Benjamin Franklin, both men today still being regarded as national heroes.

The sculptor writes on his web-site:

“When Benjamin Franklin first went to France as a diplomat, he was highly influential and successful in securing a French Alliance in support for the American War of Independence. George Washington, at that time, was serving as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army of the American Revolution. Gilbert du Montier Lafayette, who led the French troops, gifted to George Washington, as a sign of solidarity, a ceremonial apron as a symbol of the bond between these two countries. The monumental statues sculpted by Jim West depict the moment at which George Washington presented that apron to Benjamin Franklin — an apron that is now displayed in the Grand Masonic Museum of Philadelphia, outside of which these statues stand.”

Its location makes this sculpture very visible, and it makes quite a statement.