Amor Caritas, (sculpture).

Amor Caritas, (sculpture).

Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, 1848-1907, sculptor.

Amor Caritas, (sculpture).

Joseph Willard Memorial, (sculpture).

Cast after 1898.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. 40 x 17 1/2 x 5 in.; Base: approx. 76 x 36 x 16 in.

(Lower right of bronze:) AUGUSTUS/SAINT GAUDENS/MDCCCXCVIII (Base, vertical part of first step:) 1865 Joseph Edward Willard 1924 (Base:) Blessed are the pure in heart/For they shall see God signed

A winged female figure stands holding a tablet up over her head with both hands. On the tablet, the words AMOR CARITAS are inscribed. The figure's wings spread out and curve upward around the tablet. She is dressed in a long robe adorned with flowers around the middle. Her chin-length hair curls around her face and she wears a wreath of flowers in her hair.

Homage -- Willard, Joseph Edward

Figure female -- Full length

Religion -- Angel

Oak Hill Cemetery, 3001 R Street, N.W., Washington, District of Columbia 20007

Joseph Edward Willard (1865-1924) was the first American ambassador to Spain, 1913-1921. The angel in his memorial is one of fifteen small versions cast in a post-1898 edition. The original eight-foot-high angel is in the collection of the Louvre in Paris. According to Burke Wilkinson in his biography of Saint-Gaudens entitled "Uncommon Clay," the model for the angel was Davida Clark, Saint-Gaudens' mistress for twenty-five years. In November 1985, thieves removed the statue from the Oak Hill cemetery by cutting the brass wires which secured the statue to its base. The sculpture was subsequently returned in March 1986, but has not yet been reinstalled. As of the summer 1993 SOS! survey, the sculpture was still in storage at the cemetery. The base remains at the former site on the cemetery grounds. IAS files contain related articles from the Washington Post, March 13, 1986 and March 15, 1986; and The Georgetowner (District of Columbia), March 14-27, 1986 which describe the return of the stolen sculpture. Also, Dryfhout, John H., "The Work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens," Hanover: University Press of New England, 1982, pg. 234-235 discusses the original eight-foot high sculpture and mentions the subsequent casts of a smaller versions.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985

Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1993.

Michael Richman, SAAM curatorial assistant, 1967-1969.

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