Arts of War
Title
Arts of War
Description
In 1930, the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission selected Leo Friedlander to design a pair of statues representing war. Lack of funding because of the Depression delayed the project until 1935, when it was decided to use bronze instead of the more expensive granite. Friedlander completed his models by 1938, but by then, bronze became a critical war material and the project was again delayed. Finally, in 1949, the Italian government offered to cast the sculptures as a gift to the United States in thanks for post-war aid. The statues were dedicated in September 1951.
Creator
Source
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. View original.
Date
1930 (Commissioned)
09/26/1951 (Dedication)
Physical Description
Bronze sculptures gilded using a traditional technique. In the statue Sacrifice, the male rider is Mars, God of War. He is accompanied by a female figure representing Mother Earth and a small child. The statue Valor features a female figure representing the spirit of Americans bearing a shield on her left arm. 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.