War Memorial Fountain, (sculpture).

War Memorial Fountain, (sculpture).

Molnar, Donald, 1938- , sculptor.

War Memorial Fountain, (sculpture).

Sand cast concrete mortar with helmets and gun set into it.

Sculpture: approx. 117 x 54 x 8 in.; Base: approx. H. 4 in. Diam. 70 in.

The fountain is a rectangular concrete slab decorated with relief numbers, weaponry, plowhares, and metal helmets embeded in the concrete. The helmets serve as basins for the fountain outlets. A semi-circular concrete basin serves as the base. According to the artist, the pattern of the dates is a deliberate element of the design. "The year 1917 softly stated at the bottom is symbolic of the relative lack of disturbance as the war began. The 1918-1919 years above it were broken and assembled in reverse to symbolize the disruption of war; the dates of the wars above World War I are likewise symbolically confused to indicate the impact." The work alludes to the two World Wars, the Korean War, and the then unresolved Vietnam War.

History -- United States -- World War I

History -- United States -- World War II

History -- United States -- Korean War

History -- United States -- Vietnam War

Allegory -- Civic -- War

Outdoor Sculpture -- Illinois -- Urbana

Administered by University of Illinois, Board of Trustees, 506 South Wright Street, 354 Henry Administration Building, Urbana, Illinois 61801

Located University of Illinois, Lincoln Hall, 702 South Wright Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801

Inscription on a nearby plaque reads: MEMORIAL COURT/DEVELOPMENT OF THIS COURT/WAS PROVIDED BY GIFTS OF/MEMBERS OF THE CLASSES OF/1916 AND 1919 TO HONOR/ILLINI WHO LOST THEIR/LIVES IN WORLD WAR I./DEDICATED 1969/CO-CHAIRMEN/1918 MEMORIAL COMMITTEE/GEORGE S. HALAS/ALEXANDER T. BUSH/PRESIDENT, CLASS OF 1919:/WALTER B. REMLEY/CHAIRMAN/1919 MEMORIAL COMMITTEE/CLIFTON E. BARNES. IAS files contain a copy of Scheinman, Muriel, "Art collecting at the University of Illinois: a history and catalogue," Ph.D. diss., University of Illinois, 1981, pg. 74, 75, 358, which quotes artist in description of piece. The artist as a faculty member and landscape architect at the University. He designed both the memorial and its surrounding theater area.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Illinois survey, 1992.

Scheinman, Muriel, "Art collecting at the University of Illinois; a history and catalogue," Ph.D., diss., University of Illinois, 1981, pg. 74-75.

Scheinman, Muriel, "Art collecting at the University of Illinois: a history and catalogue," Ph.D. diss., University of Illinois, 1981, pg. 358.

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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