A sixty-foot-long bronze sculpture with 38 figures is going up here in downtown Washington, DC.
Sculptor Sabin Howard focuses on the journey of a WWI survivor in his developing, monumental sculpture. Set in Pershing Park, next to the White House, it will reimagine our WWI memorial.
People gravitate to sculpted human figures, not stark, theoretical monuments. That personal touch is what Sabin Howard intends to give the public.
As you walk along the sculpture called A Soldier’s Journey, you follow “The Everyman” as he answers the call of his country and heads to war. He returns home at the end of the piece, but he’s a changed man.
The Renaissance-inspired sculpture is even more delightfully surprising as most recent public art is banal, ugly, or offensive. In contrast, this piece is dynamic, engaging, and beautiful.
Across the Mall is its counterpoint, the DC War Memorial. It’s a small marble bandstand listing 499 dead residents from Washington DC, casualties in the Great War.
This memorial focuses on individual names, most of which we know nothing about. Not their lives, family, or even their ranks.
The two memorials couldn’t be more different. Each takes a different approach to memorializing those who sacrificed their lives in WWI. It’s worth visiting both to see those views in person.
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