Peace Monuments With an Element of Glamour

Click here for peace monuments with nudes.

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May 30, 1903 - "Goddess of Victory" (statue of William Tecumseh Sherman), Central Park, New York City, New York (USA). "At the statue, which is mounted on an 11-foot-high pedestal, David McCullough exclaims, 'Isn't it great! Look at that face! It's the face of a madman! Grim and pockmarked...the very image of the horrors of war!' Sherman, celebrated & reviled for his brutal 1864 march from Atlanta to the sea, is famous for saying 'War is hell.' McCullough likes to recite the lesser known part of Sherman's speech: 'I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine.' McCullough lingers on the word moonshine. 'And look, there's the (horse's upraised) foot that gave [sculptor] Augustus Saint-Gaudens [1848-1907] so much trouble.' But what McCullough likes best about the statue is the figure in front of Sherman, a barefooted, winged goddess of Victory. She clutches a palm branch in her left hand and reaches out with her right hand, as if leading the way for Sherman. 'She makes it great,' McCullough says, noting the contrast between war-weary Sherman & Victory's youth & beauty. 'But there is no joy, no gleam of triumph or glory in her expression. Her eyes are wide, her mouth open, as if she was under a spell.' McCullough adds, 'She was African American (a 24-year-old model from South Carolina named Hettie Anderson). No one knows that!'"

S T A T U E

October 10, 1911 - "The Triumph of Peace," 14th Street Entrance, Piedmont Park, Atlanta, Georgia (USA). Also called Peace Monument to "The Old Guard." /// "Commemorates the historic 'Mission of Peace' to the North in 1879 by the Gate City Guard of Atlanta." Depicts a Civil War soldier lowering his rifle as the Angel of Peace holds an olive branch above his head. By New York sculptor Allen Newman [1875-1940]. His model for the angel of peace was "America's first supermodel" Audrey Munson [1891-1996] whose classic beauty attracted numerous sculptors & artists during the 1910's (15 statues in NY City alone), then spent 65 years in an upstate mental institution. See her biography "She inspired monuments and died in obscurity" by James Bone. /// 103rd rededication took place October 11, 2015.

May 30, 1913 - USS Maine National Monument Central Park, New York City, New York (USA). "A sculpture group of gilded bronze figures atop the pylon represent Columbia Triumphant, her seashell chariot being drawn by three hippocampi. The bronze for this group reportedly came from metal recovered from the guns of the Maine [in Havana harbor]." By Italian-American sculptor Attilio Piccirilli [1866-1945]. His model was "America's first supermodel" Audrey Munson [1891-1996] whose classic beauty attracted numerous sculptors & artists during the 1910's (15 statues in NY City alone), then spent 65 years in an upstate mental institution. See her biography "She inspired monuments and died in obscurity" by James Bone.

October 30, 1913 - Peace Monument, SW corner, Courthouse Square, Decatur, Adams County, Indiana (USA). Designed by Charles T. Mulligan [1866-1916]. Statue of "Peace" 12 feet 3 inches tall modeled by Margaret McMasters Van Slyke, "said to be Chicago's most perfectly formed woman" (local winner of Bernarr Macfadden's 13-city "best and most perfectly formed woman" contest in 1903-1904?). Side panels bear names of 1,276 Adams County veterans: Five of the War of 1812, eight of the Mexican War, 1,152 of 1861-1865 [sic], and 111 of the Spanish-American War. "The world's first monument dedicated exclusively to peace" (according to Wikipedia). Left photo by EWL 29Jul09. Right photo from 1935.

S T A T U E

1921 - "Victory With Peace" Statue, Freedom Square, Bushwick, Myrtle & Willoughby Avenues, Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City, New York (USA). Square named in 1919. Monument depicts Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory, leaning forward with an olive branch, the symbol of peace. Memorializes Brooklyn’s losses during World War I. Sculpted by Pietro Montana [1890-1978]. The face of Nike was modeled after Claudia Deloney, a Hollywood actress & friend of film star Gloria Swanson.

C O I N

1921-1928 & 1934-1935 - Peace Dollar, USA. Created following World War I (the "War to End All Wars"), when everyone simply wanted a return of peace to their daily lives and hope for the future. "Designer Anthony De Francisci [1887-1964] used his 22 year old wife Teresa as a model for the coin and later refined the portrait based on a bust of Victory by Augustus Saint Gaudens... The reverse of the coin features an eagle perched on a rock, facing right. An olive branch is clapsed in the eagle's talons. Rays of sunlight eminate from the lower right. The original design featured the eagle breaking a sword to symbolize the end of war through by the destruction of its implement. Concern that the symbolism might be misinterpreted prompted the Mint to remove the broken sword. The word 'Peace' appears at the base of the coin, marking the only time the word has appeared on circulating US coinage."

May 29, 1935 - Statute of "La Paix / Peace," "Garden of Normandie," Pinelawn Memorial Park (aka Long Island National Cemetery), Framingdale, Long Island, New York (USA). "Thirteen feet tall gilded statue of a toga-clad woman, one arm raised & offering an olive branch, by Louis Dejean [1872-1954]. [Originally] dominated the center of the [305-foot long] first class dining room of the French liner Normandie [1935-1942]" -- which sank in New York City during World War II. "The sculpture survived & was acquired [when?] by the cemetery after being discovered dismantled in a Brooklyn churchyard." (Bronze medallions from two doors of the Normandie are still in use at Our Lady of Lebanon Marionite Cathedral in Brooklyn, NY.)

May 30, 1939 - "Peace" Fountain, Pulteney Park, South Main Street, Geneva, New York (USA). "White marble sculpture of a full-length female, on one knee while seated thrusting a Hoplite sword into the ground, allegorically symbolizing the cessation of hostilities. Inscribed 'Erected to the memory of Geneva Patriots who served our Nation in her wars that Freedom might remain our Most Cherished Heritage.' Created by Jean MacKay Henrich [1909-2002] who was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, graduate of Antioch College & University of Buffalo, studied in Vienna & Paris. head of the Sculpture Department at Art Institute of Buffalo." Carved by Georgia Marble Company of Tate, Georgia. Replaced when veining appeared on the sculpture's face & upper body. Original pink marble carving is displayed in West Jefferson County, North Carolina (since relocated). Also called "Veterans Memorial Fountain" & "The Lady of the Lake."

May 1940 - "The Wedding of the Waters," Aloe Plaza (opposite railway station), St. Louis, Missouri (USA). Symbolizes the Missouri & Mississippi Rivers merging just North of St. Louis. Unveiled to a crowd of about 3000 people, the fountain caused a local uproar because of its playful, irreverent, naked & nearly cartoonish figures, and because Swedish sculptor Carl Milles [1875-1955] had conceived the group as a wedding party with undeniable sexual overtones. The city insisted that the name be changed to "The Meeting of the Waters."

1944 - "The New Democracy," Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City (Mexico). "Depicts a woman who is trying to shatter the bonds of oppression and exploitation. She carries a torch of freedom to symbolize the new order. David Alfaro Siqueiros [1896-1974] includes strong visions of the future, similar to Diego Rivera [1886-1957]. Classical influence is shown in his approach to idealize human body form. Sometimes he exaggerates with expressive emotion. With his death came an end to a great movement in modern art."