James McCosh (1811-1894)

The class of 1879 makes a departure this year in its decennial gifts to the College. It will present an heroic portrait in bronze of ex-President McCosh, executed by Augustus St. Gaudens. The statue, for it is nothing less than this, though executed in relief upon a flat groundwork, has been made from numerous sittings lately given to the sculptor by the venerable Scotchman whose most vigorous work for the college was done while the class of '79 was undergoing its course of instruction . . . Placed on the wall of the Chapel to the left of the apse, it will be for all time a lasting tribute to the vigorous administration of Dr. McCosh and a worthy record of the best art of the day.
-Harold Godwin, “The St. Gaudens Bronze of Dr. McCosh,” Princeton College Bulletin 1, no. 3 (1889)

A fire during house parties weekend in 1921 destroyed Marquand Chapel, leaving only the bust intact, which was moved to the collection of rare books and special collections in Chancellor Green Library (now in Firestone Library).