Arts of Peace
Title
Arts of Peace
Description
In 1930, the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission selected James Earle Fraser to design a pair of statues representing peace. Lack of funding during the Great Depression delayed the project until 1935. To curb costs, Fraser worked in bronze rather than granite. The sculpture models were completed in 1938, but were not cast completely due to wartime demands for bronze. In 1949, the Italian government offered to cast the sculptures as a gift to thank the United States for aid after World War II. The statues were dedicated in September 1951.
Creator
Source
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. View original.
Date
1930 (commissioned)
1951 (dedicated)
Physical Description
Bronze sculptures gilded using a traditional technique. Both statues feature a winged horse symbolizing the ancient god of Poetry. "Music and Harvest" has a man with a bundle of wheat representing the harvest and a woman with a harp representing music. "Aspiration and Literature" has a man with a book representing literature and a man with a bow representing aspiration. The thirty-six stars on the bases of the statues represent the number of states in the Union at the time of the Civil War.