Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, (sculpture).

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, (sculpture).

Halprin, Lawrence, 1916-2009, designer.

Baskin, Leonard, 1922-2000, sculptor.

Estern, Neil, 1926- , sculptor.

Graham, Robert, 1938-2008, sculptor.

Hardy, Tom, 1921-2016, sculptor.

Segal, George, 1924-2000, sculptor.

Benson, John Everett, 1939- , carver.

Hemmech, Dean, stonecutter.

Kussatz, Kraug, stonecutter.

Leither, Wally, stonecutter.

Maile, LaVern, stonecutter.

Moss, Joe, assistant.

Sabrowsky, Mervile, stonecutter.

Cold Spring Granite Company, contractor.

William V. Walsh Construction Company, contractor.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, (sculpture).

FDR Memorial, (sculpture).

First Inaugural, (sculpture).

Presidential Seal, (sculpture).

Rural Couple, (sculpture).

Fireside Chat, (sculpture).

Breadline, (sculpture).

Social Problems, (sculpture).

Eleanor Roosevelt, (sculpture).

Funeral Cortege, (sculpture).

Designed 1978. 1991, 1994-1997. Dedicated May 2, 1997. Wheel-chair figure of Roosevelt added: Jan. 2001.

Bronze, Carnelian granite and plant material.

Overall: 7.5 acres; Seated figure of Roosevelt: approx. H. 8 ft. 7 in.; Social Progress relief panels: approx. H. 6 ft. x W. 6 ft.

(Plaza includes timeline of important dates and events from FDR's life) (Text on Graham New Deal Social Policy panels also appears in Braille)

An elaborate landscaped memorial setting with shade trees, waterfalls, statuary and alcoves. The memorial is divided into a forecourt and four outdoor galleries, one for each of Roosevelt's four terms in office. In the forecourt is a life-size bronze statue of Roosevelt, seated in a wheel chair. He faces the Washington Monument, chin uplifted. The adjacent outdoor gallery "rooms" are defined by walls of red South Dakota granite and by ornamental plantings; guotations from FDR are carved into the granite. The first room introduces Roosevelt's early Presidency (1932-1936), when he launched the New Deal. A relief sculpture depicts his first inauguration., with a scene of Roosevelt riding in a car waving at crowds. There is also a bronze sculpture of The Presidential Seal and a Roman-American eagle, with wings spread before a circle ringed with stars.

The second room (Social Policy, 1936-1940) features an urban breadline with five men huddled together; a farmer dressed in overalls, standing next to a seated woman; and a man listening to a fireside chat on the radio. New Deal social and economic programs are depicted in surrounding bronze panels. Scenes include a woman cleaning, a factory grinding machine, construction workers, and a dam laborer carrying a drill from the Tennessee Valley Authority project. In the third room (War Years, 1940-1944), Roosevelt appears seated in a dining room chair with roller casters and wearing a floor-length cape, with his dog Fala seated nearby. The fourth room (Seeds of Peace, 1944-1955), includes a full-length statue of Eleanor Roosevelt standing before the seal of the United Nations and bas-relief scenes of Roosevelt's funeral. Waterfalls throughout the memorial allude to Roosevelt as an avid boater, and former Secretary of Navy. The memorial is lit at night.

Portrait male -- Roosevelt, Franklin D. -- Full length

Occupation -- Political -- President

Portrait female -- Roosevelt, Eleanor -- Full length

Animal -- Portrait -- Fala

Ceremony -- Civic -- Inauguration

Ceremony -- Funeral

State of Being -- Mood -- Desolation

State of Being -- Disabled -- Physical Disability

Recreation -- Leisure -- Radio

Animal -- Bird -- Eagle

Outdoor Sculpture -- District of Columbia -- Washington

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

Located West Potomac Park, Between Tidal Basin, Ohio Drive, and Potomac River, Washington, District of Columbia

The idea for a memorial to Roosevelt originated in 1946, with a resolution introduced in July of that year to Congress. In 1955, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Commission was established by Congress (public law 84-372); and in Sept. 1959, the site in West Potomac Park was reserved for the memorial (public law 86-214). Memorial design competions were held in 1960 and again in 1966, but the chosen designs were later rejected. In 1978, the committee approved a design by Lawrence Halprin and in July of 1982 (public law 97-224) authorized construction and appropriations for a modified version of Halprin's original design. Ground for the new memorial was broken September 1991; and to supplement federal funds, a capitol campaign was launched in Jan. 1993. Memorial construction began in October 1994. Total cost of the memorial was $48 million dollars ($43 million from Federal government; $5 million raised from private contributions).

Designed by Lawrence Halprin, the memorial incorporates the works of sculptors Leonard Baskin (Funeral Relief), Neil Estern (Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt statues and Fala), Robert Graham (Inauguration and Social Problem reliefs and forecourt portrait of Roosevelt in wheelchair), Tom Hardy (Presidential seal and eagle), George Segal (rural couple, bread line, and fireside chat); and John Benson, who designed quotation graphics and did some of the carving, along with assistant Joe Moss.

The stone for the memorial was quarried in Millbank, South Dakota and fabricated by the Cold Spring Granite Co. (Minnesota).

Controversy over whether Roosevelt (who suffered from polio) should be depicted openly in a wheelchair resulted in the addition of Graham's seated portrait of the President added in 2001. IAS files contain newpaper clipping outlining the controversy, including Washington Post, from July 2, 1998 and Jan. 11, 2001.

IAS files contain brochure from National Park Service, "Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial," 1997 and article from The Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) Sept. 15, 1998, Sect. E, pg. 1. IAS files also contain articles from the Washington Post, April 9, 1997, B-1; April 11, 1997, D1, 5; April 24, 1997, Sect. A, 1-2, 14; April 27, 1997, Sect. A, pg. 1, 21-23; April 27, 1997, Sect. G, pg. 1, 6; April 30, 1997, B-1 and D-1; May 1, 1997, A-14 and A 1-2; May 2, 1997, A-1; May 3, 1997, Sect. A, pg. 1, 16-17; May 4, 1997, May 9, 1997, A-25; July 2, 1998, July 23, 1977, B-5, May 2, 1998, and July 2, 1998.

Art Inventory staff, 1999, 2001.

Dupre, Judith, "Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory," New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 2007, pg. 174-181.

Dupre, Judith, "Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory," New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 2007, pg. 174-181.

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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