Taras Shevchenko, (sculpture).

Taras Shevchenko, (sculpture).

Mol, Leo, 1915-2009, sculptor.

Zuk, Radoscav, architect.

Illuzzi, Vincent, 1920-2013, carver.

Bedi-Rassy Art Foundry, founder.

Jones Brothers Company, fabricator.

M. Cain Company, contractor.

Taras Shevchenko, (sculpture).

Commissioned July 14, 1962. 1963. Dedicated June 27, 1964.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: Vermont granite; Relief: Vermont granite.

2 parts. Sculpture: approx. 14 ft. x 4 ft. 7 in. x 4 ft. 6 in.; Base: approx. 7 ft. x 4 ft. 7 in. x 4 ft. 6 in.

Mor/Leo63 / BEDI-RASSY ART FDRY NY (Base, front:) TARAS/SHEVCHENKO/1814-1861/BARD OF UKRAINE (Base, north side:) DEDICATED TO/THE LIBERATION, FREEDOM AND/INDEPENDENCE OF FALL CAPTIVE NATIONS./THIS MONUMENT OF TARAS SHEVCHENKO, 19TH CENTURY UKRAINIAN POET AND FIGHTER FOR/THE INDEPENDENCE OF UKRAINE AND THE FREEDOM OF FALL MANKIND, WHO UNDER FOREIGN RUSSIAN/IMPERIALIST TYRANNY AND COLONIAL RULE/APPEALED FOR "NEW AND RIGHTEOUS LAW OF WASHINGTON," WAS UNVEILED ON JUNE 27, 1964./THIS HISTORIC EVENT COMMEMORATED THE/150TH ANNIVERSARY OF SHEVCHENKO'S BIRTH./THE MEMORIAL WAS AUTHORIZED BY THE 86TH/CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ON AUGUST 31, 1960,AND SIGNED INTO PUBLIC/LAW 86-749 BY DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, THE 344TH/PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/ON SEPTEMBER 13, 1960. THE STATUE WAS ERECTED/BY AMERICANS OF UKRAINIAN ANCESTRY AND FRIENDS. (On the west side of the base is a quote from Shevchenko which is written in Ukrainian.)(Back of low wall:) ...OUR SOUL SHALL NEVER PERISH,/FREEDOM KNOWS NO DYING,/AND THE GREEDY CANNOT HARVEST/FIELDS WHERE SEAS ARE LYING;/CANNOT BIND THE LIVING SPIRIT/NOR THE LIVING WORK,/CANNOT SMIRCH THE SACRED GLORY/OF TH'ALMIGHTY LORD./TARAS SHEVCHENKO [ THE CAUCASUS [ 1845 signed Founder's mark appears.

Portrait of the Ukrainian national poet Taras Shevchenko dressed in a long suit coat. His proper left hand grasps his jacket lapel and his proper left foot steps forward slightly. Shevchenko is depicted with a moustache and short wavy hair. He looks down from the top of his rectangular-shaped base. Next to the portrait is a low wall adorned with a relief of the martyred Prometheus. The pieces rest on top of a stepped platform set on a stone plaza in the middle of a triangular-shaped park.

Portrait male -- Shevchenko, Taras -- Full length

Ethnic -- Ukrainian

Occupation -- Writer -- Poet

Mythology -- Classical -- Prometheus

Outdoor Sculpture -- District of Columbia -- Washington

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

Located Between 22nd Street and 23rd Street at P Street, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia

Sculpture was sponsored by the Taras Shevchenko Memorial Committee of America, Inc. along with the involvement of the Ukrainian National Association and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America. The sculpture was authorized by Congress on Sept. 13, 1960. The artist, Leo Mol, was selected through a competition sponsored by the Taras Shevchenko Memorial Committee. Jones Brothers Company was responsible for the stonework. SOS! survey provided a translation of the Ukrainian inscription on the sculpture base as: Fight and you will win! God will help us. Right is on our side. Glory. Liberty. Taras Shevchenko [ Caucasus ] 1845. Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861) was a Ukrainian poet who was sent to prison by Czarist Russians for his freedom-minded writings. He died after four years and became a national hero in the former Soviet Union.

IAS files also contain an excerpt from Jannelle Warren-Findley's Aug. 1, 1985 report for the National Park Service entitled, "A Guide to Selected Statues, Monuments and Memorials," National Capital Parks - Central, National Park Service, Washington, D.C. (RFQ 3-4-1919) which includes a brief maintenance history, a list of bibliographic sources, and notes to additional information found in National Park Service files. The report also notes that there was considerable controversy over the appropriateness of the monument in Washington stemming from the fact that Shevchenko is a hero of the former Soviet Communist Party and is not well known in the U.S.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1993.

Smithsonian Institution Research Expeditions Volunteer Project, 1991.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 298.

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, H-21.

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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Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382

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