The Aviator, (sculpture).

The Aviator, (sculpture).

Lukeman, Augustus, 1871-1935, sculptor.

Roman Bronze Works, founder.

The Aviator, (sculpture).

1924. Dedicated Nov. 11, 1925. Rededicated Nov. 11, 1975.

Digital Reference:

Figure: bronze, burnished gold; Base: marble or polished granite.

Figure: approx. 84 x 36 x 36 in.; Base: approx. 79 x 90 x 90 in.

(Block letters, east side of bronze plinth:) AUGUSTUS LUKEMAN/Sc/1924 (Rear or north side of bronze plinth:) CAST BY ROMAN BRONZE WORKS, N.Y. (South side of base, letters appear to be cemented to vertical stone face:) READY TO SERVE/--/TO THE GLORIOUS MEMORY/OF ALL AMERICANS/WHO SACRIFICED THEIR/LIVES IN THE WORLD WAR/1914 1918 (On back, north side of base, on cast bronze tablet affixed by four rosettes:) GIFT OF MRS. LOUIS BENNETT/WHOSE ONLY SON/LOUIS BENNETT JR. "YALE 1917"/WAS CAPTAIN OF THE WEST VIRGINIA/FLYING CORPS WHICH HE ORGANIZED/AT WHEELING WEST VIRGINIA/

HE WAS KILLED IN ACTION/AUGUST 24th 1918 WHILE SERVING/AS LIEUTENANT 40th SQUADRON/ROYAL AIR FORCE IN FRANCE/HIS RECORD AUGUST 15th-24th BEING/3 ENEMY PLANES 9 BALLOONS/DESTROYED (4 IN ONE DAY)/"AND THUS THIS MAN DIED LEAVING/HIS SPIRIT AS AN EXAMPLE OF ABLE/COURAGE, NOT ONLY UNTO YOUNG/MEN BUT UNTO ALL THE NATION" signed Founder's mark appears.

A full-length standing male figure, dressed in a World War I aviator uniform, with wings attached. The aviator wears a leather helmet with goggles pushed up on his forehead, and a thigh-length, belted coat with the collar turned up. He wears trousers tucked into boots which lace up to the knee. Two large, bird-like wings are held onto his arms with straps. His proper right arm is down at his side, and the lower tip of the proper right wing touches the ground at his feet. The proper left wing is held at shoulder-height. The aviator stands with his weight on his proper right leg, his proper left leg is forward.

Occupation -- Military -- Aviator

History -- United States -- World War I

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Outdoor Sculpture -- West Virginia -- Wheeling

Linsly School, Knox Lane, Pearson Lawn, Wheeling, West Virginia 26003

IAS files contain related articles from Wheeling Intelligencer (Wheeling, WV), Nov. 12, 1925, pg. 2 and Wheeling News-Register (Wheeling, WV), June 5, 1960, part V, pg. 1. From 1925 to 1975, the sculpture was originally located at the Linsly Military Institute's old campus in front of the Thedah Place building, now owned by Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Corporation. It was subsequently moved to the new Linsly School campus on Knox Lane and was rededicated there Nov. 11, 1975. The sculpture commemorates Lt. Louis Bennett, Jr. Born in Weston, West Virginia, Bennett organized the West Virginia Flying Corps in Wheeling and later joined the Royal Air Force.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, West Virginia survey, 1992.

Wheeling Intelligencer (Wheeling, WV), Nov. 12, 1925, pg. 2.

Wheeling News-Register (Wheeling, WV), June 5, 1960, part V, pg. 1.

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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