In Washington Park, a bronze figure of Robert Burns fixes his gaze somewhere past your shoulder. The figure you face was designed by Charles Calverley, a native of Albany, and was unveiled here in 1888. Around its pedestal are four bas‑reliefs that were later added in 1891 and were in part designed by George Henry Boughton. This monument is one of the oldest pieces of public art in the park.
Robert Burns himself was a Scottish poet active during the 1700s, celebrated as Scotland’s national poet and a leading light of the Romantic era. He became a cultural icon not only at home but among the Scottish diaspora, including members of the Saint Andrew’s Society of Albany, a group of Scottish Americans founded in 1803.
The work before you grew from a local story of patronage: Mary McPherson, a wealthy Scottish immigrant in Albany, died in 1886 and left funds in her will to build a monument to Burns. Peter Kinnear, a member of the Saint Andrew’s Society, served as executor and oversaw the monument’s creation; in March 1886 he went to New York City and, on the recommendation of painter William Hart, commissioned Calverley.
Calverley's bronze poet, the four bas-reliefs added in 1891, and the open park all keep Mary McPherson's bequest in view.