First Division Memorial, (sculpture).

First Division Memorial, (sculpture).

French, Daniel Chester, 1850-1931, sculptor.

Huguet, Adolphe, designer.

Gilbert, Cass, Jr., b. 1894, architect.

Gilbert, Cass, 1858-1934, architect.

John Polachek Bronze & Iron Company, founder.

First Division Memorial, (sculpture).

First Division Monument, (sculpture).

Commissioned Dec. 16, 1921. Dedicated Oct. 4, 1924. Additions added 1947 and 1974.

Digital Reference:

Victory figure: bronze: Shaft: pink Milford granite.

Overall: approx. H. 80 ft.; Figure of Victory: approx. H. 15 ft.

John Polachek Bronze & Iron Co. Inc/Long Island City NY (Plaques inscribed with names of war dead, military campaigns and battle honors of the First Division, World War I and list of War dead from World War II) (Inscribed on the top of each plaque:) The Names of Our Immortal Dead are Here Enshrined Founder's mark appears.

A tall granite shaft with gilded bronze winged figure of Victory at the top. She holds a flag in her raised proper right hand and she extends her left hand in a blessing of the dead. At the base of the memorial are bronze plates inscribed with the names of 5,599 men of the First Division who were killed in World War I. The First Division's campaigns and battle honors are also carved on the column.

History -- United States -- World War I

History -- United States -- World War II

History -- United States -- Vietnam War

Allegory -- Other -- Triumph

Object -- Other -- Flag

Outdoor Sculpture -- District of Columbia -- Washington

Administered by United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, District of Columbia

Located Ellipse, President's Park South, State Place & 17th Street, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia

The sculpture was erected by the Memorial Association of the First Division in memory of the dead of the Division in World War I. On December 16, 1921, an act of Congress approved the erection of the memorial on public grounds without expense to the United States. The cost of the sculpture was $150,000. Daniel Chester French designed the figure of Victory. Cass Gilbert designed the original monument; his son drew plans for subsequent additions. On June 25, 1947, an addition to the monument was authorized in memory of the World War II dead. On August 23, 1974 another addition was authorized for the dead of the First Division, United States Forces in Vietnam. IAS files contain transcriptions located on the base and at the two ends of the plaza. IAS files also contain news clipping from the Washington Post, Oct. 5, 1924, pg. 6 and the Evening Star, Oct. 4, 1924, pg. 1. Information on the memorial can be found at the District of Columbia's Martin Luther King, Jr. Public Library, Washingtoniana Division clipping files.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1993.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 133.

Michael Richman, SAAM curatorial assistant, 1967-1969.

Richman, Michael, "Daniel Chester French: An American Sculptor," New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1976, pg. 187-194.

Goode, James M., "Washington Sculpture: A Cultural History of Outdoor Sculpture in the Nation's Capitol," Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, no. 3.4.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 133.

Richman, Michael, "Daniel Chester French: An American Sculptor," New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1976, pg. 187.

Goode, James M., "Washington Sculpture: A Cultural History of Outdoor Sculpture in the Nation's Capitol," Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, no. 3.4

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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