Jane A. Delano Memorial, (sculpture).

Jane A. Delano Memorial, (sculpture).

McKenzie, R. Tait, 1867-1938, sculptor.

Jane A. Delano Memorial, (sculpture).

Jane A. Delano and the Nurses Who Died in Service in World War I, (sculpture).

Spirit of Nursing, (sculpture).

1932-1933. Dedicated April 26, 1934.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: marble.

(Lower front right:) R. TAIT MCKENZIE fecit 1932.1933. (Front of base:) TO/JANE A. DELANO/AND 296 NURSES WHO DIED IN THE WAR/1914-1918 (Left side of figure:) THOU SHALT NOT BE AFRAID FOR THE TERROR BY NIGHT NOR FOR THE ARROW FLIETH BY DAY (Right side of figure:) NOR FOR THE PESTILENCE THAT WALKETH IN DARKNESS NOR FOR THE DESTRUCTION THAT WASETH AT NOONDAY. signed

Standing female figure representing the spirit of nursing is dressed in long drapery and a cape that covers her head. Her arms are outstretched with the proper left palm facing downward and the proper right palm facing upward. Her proper right foot is slightly forward and slips out from beneath her drapery. The sculpture is installed in a niche on the front of a tall marble wall in the middle of an exedra. On either side of the sculpture is a low wall with seating.

Homage -- Delano, Jane Arminda

Occupation -- Medicine -- Nurse

History -- United States -- World War I

Outdoor Sculpture -- District of Columbia -- Washington

American Red Cross, Facilities, 430 17th Street, N.W., Garden Court, Washington, District of Columbia 20006

Jane Delano (1862-1919) was the founder of the Red Cross nursing programs. She received her training in New York at Bellevue Hospital and worked in the South treating yellow fever victims before becoming Superintendent of Army Nurses. She became Chairman of the Committee of Red Cross Nursing Services when World War I started. She died in Brittany, France while on an inspection tour after the Armistice. The day after her death a monument drive was begun and the monument to her was unveiled in 1933. The monument, which was unveiled by Jane Delano's student nursing school friend, Anna Kerr, is also a memorial to the 296 nurses who died in World War I. The Washington Herald, Feb. 6, 1933, image shows R. Tait McKenzie working on the memorial in his studio.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985

Brookgreen Gardens, n.d.

Hussey, Christopher, "Tait McKenzie, A Sculptor of Youth," Philadelphia, PA: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1930.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 462-463.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1993.

Michael Richman, SAAM curatorial assistant, 1967-1969.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, M-20.

Washington Herald, Feb. 6, 1933.

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

Control Number:

Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382

Powered by SirsiDynix

About | © 2020 Smithsonian | Terms of Use | Privacy | Contact

SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System