Sailors and Soldiers Memorial, (sculpture).

Sailors and Soldiers Memorial, (sculpture).

Paeff, Bashka, 1893-1979, sculptor.

Johnson, Bernard, sculptor.

Sailors and Soldiers Memorial, (sculpture).

Maine Sailors and Soldiers Memorial, (sculpture).

1925. Dedicated May 31, 1926. Rededicated May 31, 2001.

Digital Reference:

Reliefs: bronze; Stele: white granite.

Allegorical bronze relief: approx. H. 8 1/2 ft. x W. 11 ft.; Maine state seal relief: approx. H. 55 in. x 43 in.; Stele: approx. 13 ft. 4 in. x 17 ft.

(On lower front of granite stele:) THE STATE OF MAINE /TO HER SAILORS AND SOLDIERS (On lower edge of allegorical bronze relief:) "Lord God of Hosts Be with us yet lest we forget, lest we forget" - Kipling (On lower left of allegorical relief:) BASHKA PAEFF/FECIT 1925 (On relief of state seal:) Bernard Johnson (On banner above state seal relief:) DIRIGO (On banner below state seal relief:) MAINE signed

On one side of a granite stele is an allegorical bronze relief, "Sacrifices of War," that depicts a central female figure representing "Civilization" clutching a child and looking down upon death, which is represented by two dead bodies. In the background, heroism and self-sacrifice are represented by a battlefield image of World War I soldiers engaged in battle, one aiming a rifle and one tossing a grenade. On the other side of the stele is a bronze relief that depicts the Maine state seal, which features a central shield adorned with a pine tree above a reclining animal; flanked on the right by a sailor leaning against an anchor, and flanked on the left by a farmer leaning against a scythe. At the bottom of the seal is a banner inscribed with "MAINE." Above the state seal is a star within a pentagon and a small banner inscribed with "DIRIGO." At the bottom four corners of the stele are reliefs of wreathes.

History -- United States -- World War I

Figure group -- Female & Child

Allegory -- Life

Figure group -- Male

State of Being -- Death

State of Being -- Evil -- War

Architecture -- Military -- Battlefield

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Occupation -- Military -- Sailor

Literature -- Kipling

Outdoor Sculpture -- Maine -- Kittery

Administered by State of Maine, Department of Conservation, Bureau of Parks and Lands, 22 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333

Located John Paul Jones Park, Kittery, Maine

Bashka Paeff sculpted the allegorical relief and Bernard Johnson sculpted the state seal. The monument originally had an urn at each of the foundation's four corners, but these were subsequently removed. A time capsule was placed in the monument's foundation Nov. 11, 1924, when the park was dedicated. Three nearby plaques refer to the history of Maine, the United States Marine Corps, and the history of the Revolutionary War era sloop commanded by John Paul Jones. IAS files contain a related excerpt from "Kittery, Ancient and Modern," Kittery Booklet Committee, 1931. IAS files also contain a copy of article from Woman's Art Journal (Fall / Winter 2008): pg. 31-40" titled "Motherhood, Memorials, and Anti-Militarism, Bashka Paeff's Sacrifices of War" by Jennifer Wingate.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Maine survey, 1994.

SOS Conservation Treatment Award, 1999.

Woman's Art Journal (Fall / Winter 2008): pg. 31-40.

Kittery Booklet Committee, "Kittery, Ancient and Modern," Kittery, ME: Kittery Booklet Committee, copyright 1931, pg. 10.

Woman's Art Journal (Fall / Winter 2008): pg. 31-40.

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

Control Number:

Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382

Powered by SirsiDynix

About | © 2020 Smithsonian | Terms of Use | Privacy | Contact

SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System