| TITLE
| William Ellery Channing |
| CREATOR | unknown |
| DATE | 1820-1867 |
| DIMENSIONS | 26 x 12 x 9 in. |
| ORIGINAL FORMAT | Sculpture |
| MEDIUM | Plaster |
| PHYSICAL NOTE | This plaster sculpture is one of the 16 that sit atop the bookshelves in the library’s main hall. |
| DONOR | Gift of Albert G. Greene |
| DATE OF ACCESSION | 1867 |
| LOCATION | Providence Athenæum: Main Library |
This bust of Unitarian preacher and theologian William Ellery Channing [1780-1842] is one of sixteen that circle the Athenæum’s main hall.
Channing was born in Newport, RI, to an accomplished family. Like his father and grandfather, he attended Harvard College. After graduating, he spent a year tutoring in Richmond, Virginia, where he witnessed the inhumane treatment of slaves. This experience drew him to religion and the campaign for human rights, and he returned to study theology at Harvard. Channing was ordained in 1803, dedicated himself to the educational and spiritual development of children, and became the voice of the American Unitarianism movement. Toward the end of his life, Channing became more involved in the abolitionist movement.
The creator of the bust is unknown, though its estimated date of creation is 1820-1867. The bust was donated to the library in 1867 by member Albert Gorton Greene. Greene greatly admired Channing; after Channing’s death in 1842, he wrote “Ode on the Death of William Ellery Channing,” which was published in the abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator.