Maine Sailors and Soldiers Memorial, Kittery, Maine
N 43° 05.084 W 070° 45.039
19T E 357502 N 4771711
The Maine Sailors and Soldiers Memorial symbolizes the high honor paid by the state to its World War I soldiers and veterans.
Waymark Code: WMTWJ
Location: Maine, United States
Date Posted: 10/11/2006
Views: 59
Funded by the state of Maine in 1924, the sculpture was sited conspicuously at the gateway to Maine from New Hampshire and symbolized the high honor paid by the state to its World War I soldiers and veterans. The Maine Sailors and Soldiers Memorial also fell victim to a dispute between Maine governors Baxter and Brewster, became part of a dialogue concerning post-World War I pacifism and militarism, and emerged as an example of public art caught in the crossfire of political debate.
Entering Maine on U.S. Route 1 from New Hampshire in the South, the gateway led motorists past the John Paul Jones State Historic Site. The site is the location of the Memorial created during 1924-1926, which is one of the finest sculptures by Bashka Paeff, a woman who worked as a sculpton in the Boston area for more than 50 years. With its powerful, central figures of a woman and child, the sculpture's artistically-rendered and dramatic design represented a new imagery in war memorial sculpture that, even today, remains captivating and innovative.