Bronze is an alloy consisting mainly of copper, with lesser amounts of tin, zinc, and lead. The centuries-old tradition of casting bronze into sculptural form originates from such geographically and culturally diverse regions as Greece, Africa, Mesopotamia, and Asia. This intriguing and complicated material has long been associated with great historical epochs—some of the most astounding Western bronzes were produced during the classical and Renaissance eras. Yet before the mid-nineteenth century, Americans did not possess the technology to cast bronze sculpture in this country. Protean attempts were made without success, while functional objects such as weathervanes were cast in the base metals of lead or iron. American sculptors either relied on European foundries or, more often, had their works carved in the preferred medium of marble.

By 1850, however, the prospect of bronze casting in the United States had taken on added symbolism—a medium that reflected America's growing confidence and ambition as a world power while at the same time proclaiming its artistic independence from European sculptural models and materials. Between 1850 and 1900, the remarkable development of specialized foundries and the proliferation of trained labor and equipment enabled sculptors to work on native shores rather than abroad, as most American Neoclassical marble sculptors did. If not less expensive than marble, bronze was seen as stronger and more practical for both public monuments and domestic statuettes, and during the late nineteenth century eclipsed marble as the medium of choice.