Born into a wealthy Basque business family, Don Diego de Gardoqui served as a financial intermediary during the Revolutionary War, helping bring funds and arms from Spain to America. He then became Spain’s first ambassador to the United States. This bronze sculpture of Gardoqui was a gift of the Spanish government for the U.S. Bicentennial. The statue stands near Thomas Fitzsimons in Sister Cities Park.
Voices heard in the Museum Without Walls: AUDIO program: Florinda Doelp is the granddaughter of Giuseppe Donato, who created the sculpture of Thomas Fitzsimons. She lives in Philadelphia in a home filled with work by her grandfather. Daniel Rolph is an historian for The Historical Society of Pennsylvania and Senior Lecturer in history at Montgomery County Community College. He has studied the life of Don Diego de Gardoqui. John Carr was the Founding Principal Conservator of Materials Conservation, a preservation firm that was based in Philadelphia. He worked on the conservation of the sculpture of Don Diego de Gardoqui.
Segment Producer: Alex Gallafent
Museum Without Walls: AUDIO is the Association for Public Art’s award-winning audio program for Philadelphia’s outdoor sculpture. Available for free by phone, mobile app, or online, the program features more than 150 voices from all walks of life – artists, educators, civic leaders, historians, and those with personal connections to the artworks.
This artwork is part of the Along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway tour
