   #copyright

Spirit of the American Doughboy

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Recent History

   The Spirit of the American Doughboy is a pressed copper sculpture by
   Ernest Moore Viquesney, designed to honour the veterans and casualties
   of World War I. Mass produced during the 1920s and 1930s for
   communities throughout the United States, the statue's design was the
   most popular of its kind; spawning a wave of collectible miniatures and
   related memorabilia as well as numerous copies by other artists.
   Nicknames for the statue are "The Doughboy" and Iron Mike.

Memorials

   The statue depicts a doughboy walking through shattered tree stumps
   strung with barbed wire, his rifle in his left hand and his right hand
   held high above his head, clutching a hand grenade. The aggressive
   design and affordability of the statue made it extremely popular, and
   more than 150 copies of it were created for municipal memorials across
   the nation. The Smithsonian American Art Museum currently lists 159
   locations. Of that number, 134 currently existing originals have been
   independently authenticated, and several have been identified as copies
   by other artists. Viquesney's actual brochures quoted a figure of over
   300 by the late 1930s, claiming at least one in every state of the
   Union, but this is believed to be an inflated figure.

   Two of the statues, both in Arkansas, are listed on the National
   Register of Historic Places; one in Helena and one in Fort Smith.
   Installed in cemeteries, town squares, outside museums, parks, on
   courthouse lawns, and countless other places, the design is said to be
   the most-viewed example of outdoor statuary in the US (after the Statue
   of Liberty) although many people do not even realize they have seen it.

   In 1998, sculptor Frank Colson was commissioned to create a copy for
   the city of Sarasota, Florida, and again in 2002, for the city of
   Columbia, South Carolina. These were new copies in their own right, not
   meant to replace any existing Doughboys as Sarasota never had an
   original Viquesney Doughboy. An original does exist in another part of
   Coulumbia, SC, giving that city two; an original and a copy. Colson and
   his son also worked on the restoration of the Doughboy in Clearwater,
   Florida, along with its companion statue, Spirit of the American Navy.

   The original "Doughboy" statue was completed in 1921 while Viquesney
   was living in Americus, Georgia and is located in Nashville, Georgia.
   However, it was the second to be installed, and about the 25th to be
   formally dedicated. The first completed installation was at Furman
   University in Greenville, South Carolina. The statue in Spencer,
   Indiana, the sculptor's hometown, was not dedicated until May 29, 1927.

Statuettes

   The statue also sparked an interior decorating fad in the 1920s. The
   design was so popular that Viquesney manufactured replica pot metal
   statuettes by the thousands. Also available were doughboy lamps, which
   were made from the 12" statuettes (the doughboy held a light bulb and
   lampshade in his raised hand), candlesticks, plaques, a smaller 6"
   version of the statuette, as well as less expensive plaster versions.
   The statuettes and lamps were made from 1921 to 1925 in Americus,
   Georgia, and continued to be produced in Spencer, Indiana until at
   least the late 1930s. With the passage of time and changes in fashion,
   many of these items were lost, broken, or discarded, making those few
   remaining in good condition sought after by modern collectors.

Variations on the theme

   Another statue, created as a companion to the Doughboy, was entitled
   "Spirit of the American Navy". This version depicted a sailor in a
   working uniform holding his cover aloft in his right hand. Far less
   popular than the Doughboy, only seven were made. Most of the Navy
   statues are installed as part of a set along with a Doughboy statue.

   The Smithsonian lists only six under the correct title (the seventh
   being listed along with the doughboy at Kingman, Arizona) one of which,
   located in Palatka, Florida, is actually a different statue said to
   have been created by sculptor Ray Fernandez, although no reference to
   any sculptor by that name exists in either the Smithsonian Art
   Inventories Catalogue or the AskART.com database. Viquesney's 1936 list
   shows "2 Doughboys, 2 Sailors", reinforcing the likelihood that the
   third doughboy is not his, and is probably a later replacement for the
   second sailor, which may have been damaged or destroyed at some point.

   Other variants were designed by Viquesney to depict different doughboy
   poses, but very few got past the drawing stage and none were ever
   realized at full scale. The largest variant actually known to be by
   Viquesney is a unique three-foot memorial in Lakemore, Ohio, also
   listed as The Spirit of the Doughboy by the Smithsonian. It was
   copyrighted in 1930 and dedicated in 1938. No full-sized Viquesney
   doughboys in any pose other than the original have been confirmed to
   exist. *New information and photographs confirm this piece is actually
   titled Resting Doughboy and was copyrighted in 1936.
   Retrieved from "
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_of_the_American_Doughboy"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
