Gold Star Parents Memorial, (sculpture).

Gold Star Parents Memorial, (sculpture).

Barry, Eileen, sculptor.

Modern Art Foundry, founder.

Gold Star Parents Memorial, (sculpture).

Gold Star Parents' Monument, (sculpture).

Love, Pain, Hope, (sculpture).

1986-1987. Copyrighted 1986. Dedicated Nov. 1987.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: statuary bronze; Base: black marble; Basin: black marble.

Sculpture: approx. 7 1/2 x 4 x 4 ft.; Base: approx. 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 ft.

(Front of bronze base of sculpture, below proper right foot of the father:) EILEEN BARRY MODERN ART FOUNDRY (Bronze plaque on front of basin, raised lettering:) GOLD STAR PARENTS MONUMENT (On front of fountain:) "Our mission is to assist those who bear the sacred name of 'Gold Star Parents' and to help each other to bear the cross of sorrow which has come to us through the sacrifices our sons and daughters made for freedom and democracy." signed Founder's mark appears.

A father and mother, standing side by side, the mother holding a folded United States flag to her chest and the father releasing a dove with his raised proper right hand. The father places his proper left arm around the mother's shoulders and both watch as the dove takes flight. The mother has long hair and is dressed in a long gown. The flag that she holds is folded in a triangle and adorned with gold stars. The sculpture rests on a square base in the center of a fountain basin. Both the base and the fountain basin are faced with squares of black marble.

History -- United States -- Military history

Figure group -- Family

Allegory -- Life -- Birth

Allegory -- Civic -- Peace

Allegory -- Quality -- Fortitude

Animal -- Bird -- Dove

Object -- Other -- Flag

Outdoor Sculpture -- New York -- Holbrook

Coadministered by Polimeni Enterprises, 350 Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, Hauppauge, New York

Coadministered by Suffolk County Vietnam Veterans, Holbrook, New York

Located MacArthur Plaza, 4250 Veterans Memorial Highway, Holbrook, New York

The sculpture and fountain cost $200,000 and was conceived by Vincent Polimeni, Executive Trustee of Gold Star Parents, a support group for parents who lost children to war. Vincent Polimeni built MacArthur Plaza and donated the property for the monument. The monument was commissioned by the Polimeni/The Halandia Group and the Vietnam Veterans of America, Suffolk County Chapter II, Holbrook, New York. It is reported to be the first monument in the country dedicated to parents who have lost children on the battlefield. The artist states that it "represents every parent who has suffered the loss of a child in a war. The dove stands for peace and rebirth, while the entwined arms reflect strength and support." IAS files contain articles from Newsday (Long Island, NY), Nov. 23, 1987 and Review Ronkonkoma, Nov. 25, 1987, pg. 1. For additional information see: Raymond E. Spinzia's "Long Island: A Guide to New York's Suffolk and Nassau Counties," New York: Hippocrene Books, rev. ed., 1991.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, New York survey, 1994.

Newsday (Long Island, NY), Nov. 23, 1987.

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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