The Arts of War: Sacrifice - Arlington Memorial Bridge - Washington, DC - Figurative Public Sculpture on Waymarking.com

County of statue: District of Columbia
Location of statue: N. pillar of Arlington Memorial Bridge at the convergence of Ohio Drive & Independence Ave., Washington
Artist: Leo Friedlander, 1888-1966, sculptor
   V. Tonelli, carver
Architect: McKim, Mead & White, Architectural Firm
Founder: Fonderia Battaglia

Monument Text:
(Front Base):

proper Description: One of two equestrian statues which flank the entrance to the bridge. Each statue depicts a nude male rider symbolic of the nation's defensive power. In Sacrifice, the male rider represents Mars, a symbol for the country's manpower. A nude female figure representing Mother Earth stands on the proper right of the rider. Her back is against the side of the horse. She looks up toward the rider. A small child is sandwiched between the back of the female figure's shoulders and the proper right leg of the rider. The rider reaches out to the child. The female figure reaches up with her proper right hand to hold the proper right arm of the child. A bit of drapery is wrapped around the back of the child and down over the proper left leg of the female figure. The base is adorned with a row of 36 stars which represent the number of states at the end of the Civil War. On the front of the base is a carved wreath." ~ Smithsonian American Art Museum

Remarks: "This sculpture and its companion, "Sacrifice" (IAS 76009562), were commissioned in 1929 originally in Mt. Airy granite per McKim, Mead & White's overall designs for Memorial Bridge. Although the artist had completed his 1916 study for "Valor" in bronze, when he received the commission for the Arlington Bridge sculptures, he translated his composition into stone and then designed the companion, "Sacrifice," in stone as well.

Several plaster studies had to be made before the sculptures could gain government approval. In the meantime, funding for the sculptures was impounded under the Economy Act of 1933. When the funds were released, the cost of granite and carving had increased beyond what had been appropriated, so in 1941, the National Park Service changed the medium to bronze. The artist had to redesign his sculptures for bronze and again create plaster models. By the time full-size plastilene models were complete in 1944, the country was in the midst of World War II and since bronze was a critical war material, the execution of the sculptures was delayed again until after the War.

In 1946, the sculptures were cast in plaster and transferred to the U.S. government's warehouse in New York. By then it was 1947 and the cost of bronze was twice what it had been before the War, making the cost of the sculptures higher than what was originally appropriated. Finally, in 1949, Italy agreed to cast the sculptures as a gift to the U. S. in appreciation for post-war aid. The sculptures were cast in Italy and gilded using the rare "mercury gilding" process. The wreath on the base was carded by V. Tonelli, a local stonecarver." ~ Smithsonian American Art Museum