Seabees Monument, (sculpture).

Seabees Monument, (sculpture).

Nagy, Frank, sculptor.

Nolen, Floyd, assistant.

Quigley, Walter, assistant.

Seabees Monument, (sculpture).

1944. Dedicated June 1944.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: cast stone; Base: concrete, stone.

Sculpture: approx. 6 x 6 x 3 1/2 ft.; Base: approx. 80 in. x 7 ft. x 4 ft.

(On proper left side of base, upper edge:) F. NAGY SC (On front of base, raised:) LIFE IS NO LIFE TO/HIM THAT DARES NOT/DIE AND DEATH NO DE/ATH TO HIM THAT/DARES NOT LIVE (On base below relief:) ERECTED TO THE ME/MORY OF ALL THE NA/VAL CONSTRUCTION/BATTALIONS HAVING/PASSED THRU HERE signed

Figure group of a man and woman. He wears a Seabee uniform with cap, utility belt and boots. His proper left arm is raised to touch the woman's proper right shoulder and he looks toward her. She stands on his proper left side, facing him. Her proper right arm is raised to touch his proper left arm. She gazes down. She wears a short-sleeved top and knee-length skirt. She holds a draped cloth against her hip with her proper left hand. The sculpture stands atop a rectangular base of stone and concrete. Bas-relief panels decorate the four sides of the base.

On the front of the base is a relief panel depicting a group of six people, four men and two women in a church, or chapel. Five of them are standing in line and are shown in proper left profile. On the far left of the panel, a woman is kneeling in a pew, her hands folded in prayer. Behind her, on the wall of the chapel, hangs a crucifix. The women wear knee-length dresses; the men wear navy uniforms and hold caps in their hands. The relief panel on the back of the base depicts a group of men and women. On the left, a woman wearing a kerchief on her head sits on the ground. A man is seated on a chair next to her and has his proper right arm on her shoulder. A woman stands beside the man. In the center of the panel are a man and woman, standing together. On the right side of the panel are a man and a young child. They are shown in proper left profile. The man leans against a low wall and has his proper left arm around the child's shoulder. The child holds the man's proper left hand.

The relief panel on the side of the base depicts a full-length nude male figure wrestling with a snake. The snake is curled around the man's legs. The panel on the other side of the base depicts a full-length nude male slaying a wolf with a spear. Both the man and wolf are depicted in proper left profile. The wolf stands in front of the man, its head craned upward. The sword point is in the wolf's back.

Occupation -- Military -- Sailor

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Recreation -- Church -- Prayer

Figure male -- Nude

Animal -- Reptile -- Snake

Outdoor Sculpture -- California -- Port Hueneme

Administered by United States Navy, Naval Construction Battalion Center, Seabee Museum, 1000 23rd Avenue, NCBC Code 10H, Port Hueneme, California

Located Naval Construction Battalion Center, Needham Theater, 1173 Cutting Road, Port Hueneme, California

The sculptor was a Petty Officer in the Navy Seabees during World War II and was stationed at Camp Rousseau, where he was assigned to artistic projects including this sculpture. IAS files contain copy of related Navy correspondence and articles from Seabees Coverall (Port Hueneme, CA), Aug. 27, 1943, Feb. 2 and June 15, 1944.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, California survey, 1994.

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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