Father Damien, (sculpture).

Father Damien, (sculpture).

Marisol, 1930-2016, sculptor.

Fond. Art V. Lera, founder.

Father Damien, (sculpture).

Commissioned 1967. 1968. Dedicated May 1969.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: cast bronze; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. 85 1/2 in. x 33 in. x 2 ft.; Base: approx. 4 ft. 11 in. x 9 ft. 1 in. x 9 ft.

(On cane, lower end:) MARISOL/1968 (On sculpture, top of slab:) MARISOL, 1968 Fond. Art.V.Lera - Via Reggio (Italy) (On front of base:) (Coat of Arms inscribed Keola/1874) (Below Coat of Arms:) The Reverend Joseph Damien De Veuster, SS.CC/Father Damien/Hawaii (On lower base:) Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13/(brief biography of Damien) signed

A portrait of Father Damien, seen in his 40s, with a brimmed hat, glasses, beard, and a long cloak over clerical robes. He face is heavily textured; his proper right arm is in a sling under the cloak. He is standing atop rectangular base.

Portrait male -- Damien, Father

Occupation -- Religion -- Clergy

Occupation -- Religion -- Missionary

State of Being -- Illness -- Leprosy

Dress -- Accessory -- Eye wear

Dress -- Accessory -- Cane

Outdoor Sculpture -- Hawaii -- Honolulu

Administered by State of Hawaii, State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Art in Public Places Program, 250 South Hotel Street, 2nd Floor, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Located Hawaii State Capitol, Beretania & Punchbowl Streets, Honolulu, Hawaii

Commissioned by the State of Hawaii Statuary Hall Commission. This piece one of two casts, a duplicate of the Father Damien statue located at Statuary Hall, Washington, D.C. Originally carved in wood, it was cast in bronze in Italy and shipped to Hawaii. The replica cost $18,500. The statue commemorates the Reverend Joseph Damien de Veuster, who ministered to lepers on the island of Molokai for 16 years, beginning in May 1873. Having contracted leprosy, he died among them in 1889. Originally sited in front of the State House Chambers, the statue was moved to its current location in March, 1975.

IAS files contain related excerpt from Aldyth Morris's: "The Father Damien Memorial Statue," 1969, pg. 4-12; Statuary Hall Commission correspondence dated March 13, 1967; transcription of full plaque text and related newsclippings from Honolulu Star-Bulletin, March 22, 1967, pg. A8; Honolulu Advertiser, March 23, 1967, pg. A1; Honolulu Star-Bulletin April 11, 1967, pg. B9; Star-Bulletin May 6, 1967, pg. B5; Star-Bulletin, May 8, 1967, pg. B5; Star-Bulletin, March 25, 1975, pg. A4; Star-Bulletin, Nov. 5, 1981, pg.B1; and Honolulu Advertiser, July 7, 1994, pg. A1, and Honolulu Advertiser, July 8, 1994, pg. A12.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Hawaii survey, 1994.

Radford, Georgia & Warren, "Sculpture in the Sun: Hawaii's Art for Open Spaces," Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1978.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

Radford, Georgia & Warren,"Sculpture in the Sun: Hawaii's Art for Open Spaces," Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1978, pg. 26-27.

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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