Mahlon Dickerson Eyre

Mahlon Dickerson Eyre (April 13, 1821 – August 28, 1882) was an American banker from Philadelphia who later lived in Florence, Italy.^[1]

George Washington, Trenton, New Jersey.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of a successful merchant, he attended Princeton University.^[2] He traveled in Europe, and settled in Florence, Italy, where he met his wife Isabella.^[2] He exhibited 14 works at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. One of these was a marble statuette of Hercules and Antaeus, a copy after Stefano Maderno's c. 1622-25 original.^[3]

He is best-known for owning a twice-lifesize marble statue of George Washington, depicted standing at the prow of a boat while crossing the Delaware River. The statue was carved by Fratelli Gianfranchi and was displayed at the Centennial Exposition of 1876 in Philadelphia.^[1][4] The statue was purchased for Trenton, New Jersey in 1889.^[5] It was installed in Cadwalader Park in 1892, and moved to the Mill Hill neighborhood of Trenton in 1976.^[6]

Eyre died in Florence.^[7] He is buried in Bagni di Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. He was an uncle of the architect Wilson Eyre.