Peace Statues Around the World

See below for special section on Reconciliation by Josefina de Vsconcellos.

Right click image to enlarge.

About 20 BC - Augusto di Prima Porta / Augustus of Prima Porta, Braccio Nuovo of the Vatican Museums (Vatican City). A 2.04m high marble statue of Augustus Caesar [63 BC - 14 AD] which was discovered on April 20, 1863, in the Villa of Livia at Prima Porta, near Rome (Italy). (Augustus Caesar's wife, Livia Drusilla [58 BC-AD 29], retired to the villa after his death.) "The statue's iconography is frequently compared to that of the carmen saeculare by Horace, and commemorates Augustus's establishment of the Pax Romana. The breastplate is carved in relief with numerous small figures depicting the return of the Roman legionary standards or vexillae lost to Parthia by Mark Anthony in the 40's BC and by Crassus in 53 BC, thanks to the diplomacy of Augustus."

April 30, 1622 - Standbeeld van Erasmus / Statue of Erasmus, Square in front of Sint Laurens Church, Rotterdam (Netherlands). Click here for Wikipedia article about Desiderius Erasmus [1466-1536].

S T A T U E

Circa 1735 - Statue of Pax by P. Baratta, Garden of Pavlovsk Palace, St. Petersburg (Russia).

1806 - "Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker" [sic], Apsley House, Hyde Park Corner, London (England). "A colossal heroic nude statue by Italian artist Antonio Canova [1757-1822], of Napoleon I of France in the guise of the Roman god Mars. He holds a gilded Nike or Victory standing on an orb in his right hand and a staff in his left. It was produced between 1802 and 1806 & stands 3.45 metres to the raised left hand. Once on display in the Louvre in Paris, it was purchased from Louis XVIII in 1816 by the British government, which granted it to the Duke of Wellington. It is now on display in Robert Adam's stairwell at the Duke's London residence, Apsley House."

S T A T U E

1858 - Statue of Peace, East front portico (to the right of the Columbus doors), US Capitol, Washington, DC (USA). Marble sculpture by George Gianetti, (after Luigi Persico). Draped in simple flowing robes, Peace holds an olive branch in her left hand.

1878 - Naval Peace Monument, The Mall, Washington, DC (USA). Commemorates role of US Navy during the Civil War. Facing the US Capitol is Peace, a classical figure draped from the waist down and holding an olive sprig. The monuments's other alegorical figures are Grief, History & Victory. Grief is weaping, and History holds a book.

June 9, 1889 - Statue of Giordano Bruno, Campo de' Fiori, Rome (Italy). At site where Bruno was burnt at the stake for heresy on February 17, 1600. On April 20, 1884, Pope Leo XIII published the encyclical Humanum Genus. As a response, the Freemasons decided to create a statue of pantheist Giordano Bruno [1548-1600], a Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician, poet & astrologer. Bruno is now considered a pioneer of freethought & science.

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 and 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!'"

	March 13, 1904 - Cristo Redentor de los Andes / Christ of the Andes, Uspallata Pass, Andes Mountains (Argentina/Chile). Celebrates the Peace of King Edward VII [1841-1910] of England. The statue was cast from melted military armaments, and hauled thirteen thousand feet to the top of the mountain by the armies of both nations. The monument was on the cover of Time Magazine, December 17, 1928.
	May 24, 1907 - Statue of Peace, Vicksburg National Military Park, Vicksburg, Mississippi (USA). The 90-foot high monument, constructed of Mt. Airy granite, features the statue of "Peace" that was sculpted by William Couper. In her hands, "Peace" holds a sword and a shield to signify that the soldiers of both armies have placed the weapons of war in her eternal care. Built by State of Minnesota.
	1910 - New York Peace Monument, Point Park, Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Tennessee (USA). Depicts soldiers from North and South shaking hands. Built by State of New ork.
	October 1911 - Peace Monument to "The Old Guard," 14th Street Entrance, Piedmont Park, Atlanta, Georgia (USA). "Commemorates the historic 'Mission of Peace' to the North in 1879 by the Gate City Guard of Atlanta." Depicts soldier lowering his rifle as he hears a call from the Angel of Peace.
	1912 - Peace Statue, Kings Road, Brighton/Hove (England). Celebrates King Edward VII [1841-1910] of England. Depicts the Angel of Peace.
	Date? - Godess of Peace, Town Hall, Karlstad (Sweden). "Commemorates the dissolution of Norway from Sweden [in 1905], and is entitled as a peace monument. Since it shows a woman with her foot on a soldier's head and he appears to be grimacing in pain, it seems a somewhat surprising artistic creation to symbolize peace."
	Date? - Pax, Assemblée Nationale, 126 rue de l'Université, Paris (France). Dedicated to Aristide Briand [1862-1932], several times prime minister of France, who "received the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize together with Gustav Stresemann of Germany for the Locarno Treaties. (Austen Chamberlain of the UK had won a share of the Peace Prize a year earlier for the same agreement.) A 1927 proposal by Briand and US Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg for a universal pact outlawing war led the following year to the Pact of Paris, aka the Kellogg-Briand Pact." NB: The address of the National Assembly Store is 7 rue Aristide Briand.
	1927 - Peace Monument, Nashville, Tennessee (USA). Commemorates the Battle of Nashville. Depicts one youth (the united nation) reigning in two powerful horses (North & South) under a rainbow of peace. Base includes plaque prasing US unity during World War I. Entry #934 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).
	1936 - "Vision of Peace," Memorial Concouse, St. Paul City Hall, St. Paul, Minnesota (USA). Largest carved onyx figure in the world. Weighs 60 tons & oscillates 66 degrees left & right. Although dedicated in 1936 to the war veterans of Ramsey County, pacifist sculptor Carl Milles [1875-1955] sipulated that it should symbolize world peace. Officially named "Vision of Peace" in 1994. Entry #542 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

July 1, 1947 - "Peace on Earth" Statue, American Garden, International Peace Gardens, Jordan Park, Salt Lake City, Utah (USA). "This statue in the Peace Garden is symbolic of the hope that we can leave a more peaceful future to our children." Garden (qv) was initiated in 1940 by by Mrs. O. A. Wiesley of the Salt Lake Council of Women and developed by local ethnic & national groups 1948-1989. Front inscription says, "Our hope for the children." Side inscriptons say, "Peace on Earth" & "The dawn of a new era."

1969 - Monument d'Albert Schweitzer / Albert Schweitzer Monument, Le Kanzrain, Gunsbach, Alsace (France). "A cinq minutes à pied de la maison se trouve le Kanzrain, un rocher du haut duquel on jouit d'une magnifique vue sur la vallée de Munster. C'est là qu'a été érigé, en 1969 le monument que le disciple de Rodin, Fritz Behn a taillé dans la pierre rouge des Vosges. En 1958, Albert Schweitzer [1875-1965] écrit à ce sujet : "C'est la-haut que taillé dans la pierre, je voudrais pouvoir accueillir mes amis, c'est la qu'ils voudront bien avoir une pensée pour moi et écouter le murmure de la rivière qui a, si souvent, accompagné le vol de mes pensées. C'est la qu'est née ma philosophie culturelle, c'est la que j'ai compris Jésus en son temps. C'est la que je me sentais totalement chez moi." 1952

	1980 - Statue of Jennette Rankin, Second Floor, State Capitol, Helana, Montana (USA). Original of statue by Terry Mimnaugh honoring Jennette Rankin [1880-1973] in Statuary Hall, US Capitol, Washington, DC (USA). Entry #576 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).
	1990 - "Behold", Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site, Atlanta, Georgia (USA). Depicts Kunta Kinte from the novel Roots by Alex Haley. Kinte is performing a Mandinka ceremony for his first-born, Kizzy: "Behold, the only thing greater than yourself." Sculpted by Patrick Morelli. Dedicated by Coretta Scott King. There are Alex Haley statues in Annapolis, Maryland, and Knoxville, Tennessee.
	1992 - "Hands Across the Divide" Statue, west end of Craigavon Bridge, Londonderry (Ireland). Produced by Maurice Harron.
	1998 - Monument of Peace & Unity, City Hall, San Pedro Street, Davao, Mindanao (Philippines). Unveiled during the celebration of the Philippine Centennial. Depicts the peaceful relationship of the migrant and indigenous inhabitants of Davao in the last 100 years.
	November 19, 2000 - Statue of "The Peace Pilgrim," UN Univerity for Peace, Colon (Costa Rica). By Costa Rican sculptor Fernando Calvo.
	2002 - "Children of Peace" by Gary Price, Garden Walk, Public Library, Downers Grove, Illinois (USA). Click here to see the statue's installation.
	December 15, 2002 - Memorial Statue of Chiune "Sempo" Sugihara, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California (USA). Life-size statue by Ramon Velazco depicting Sugihard seated on a bench and holding a visa in his hand. Inscribed from the Talmud: "He who saves one life, saves the entire world." Unveiling attended by attended by Sugihara's son Chiaki Sugihara, 64, from Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture. Shiune Sugihara [1900-1986] was a Japanese diplomat who helped thousands of Jews leave the Soviet Union while serving as consul of the Empire of Japan in Lithuania.
	July 20, 2003 - Greenham March Statue, City Hall, Cardiff (Wales). By Anton Agous of Malta. "She will keep alive the memory of this womens action for peace which started from Cardiff in 1981 and went around the world. " One of 13 sites on the MAW Peace Map of the British Isles as of January 2009.

"Reconcilation" by Josefina de Vsconcellos:

Original named "Reunion." Five statues in five different cities. Paid for by Sir Richard Branson.
Click here for Wikipedia article.

October 26, 1994 - Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford, Bradford (England).

1995 - Coventry Cathedral, Coventry (England). "Donated to the cathedral by Richard Branson on the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. A replica of this statue was donated by the people of Coventry to the peace garden [sic] of Heroshima [sic]."

1995 - Conference Center, Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima (Japan). Left photo shows Prof. Peter Van Den Dungen, University of Bradford (far left), Schera Chadwick & Shigeko Uppuluri. Left photo by EWL.

1999 - Kapelle der Versöhnung / Chapel of Reconcilation, Berlin Wall Memorial, Berlin (Germany).

November 8, 2000 - Stormont Castle, Belfast (Northern Ireland).

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