Sculpting the enormous statue of toga- and sandal-clad Washington to resemble one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the statue of Olympian Zeus, the American sculptor, Horatio Greenough, is remembered as one of the first American to make sculpture his profession and to gain international recognition thereby.

One of the first American artists schooled in the European style, Greenough was born on September 6, 1805, in Boston, Massachusetts.