''American Doughboy Bringing Home Victory'', also known as ''Armistice'' and ''Spirit of the American Doughboy'', is an outdoor 1932

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

and

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

Alonzo Victor Lewis Alonzo Victor Lewis (1886–1946) was an American artist. He is primarily known for public sculptures in the State of Washington; he also painted in the Impressionist style.Lawrence Kreisman and Glenn Mason, ''The Arts and Crafts Movement in the ...

. The statue is tall and weighs . The statue was first installed outside

Seattle Center Seattle Center is an arts, educational, tourism and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington, United States. Spanning an area of 74 acres (30 ha), it was originally built for the 1962 World's Fair. Its landmark feature is the tall Space Needle ...

's Veterans Hall, and later relocated to Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. It was originally commissioned in 1921 in plaster and was called ''American Doughboy Bringing Home the Bacon''. In 1932, funds for a permanent memorial led to the dedication of a bronze cast with "certain changes in appearance from the original". The sculpture courted local controversy before and after its unveiling, with views held that the facial expression, displayed war souvenirs, and the original name were uncharacteristic of returning soldiers and disrespectful to German-American citizens. By the 1960s, the bayonet on the rifle had been removed and in the preceding years, two German helmets slung over the statue's shoulders had been sawn off. The sculpture was surveyed and deemed "treatment urgent" by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

's "

Save Outdoor Sculpture! Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!) was a community-based effort to identify, document, and conserve outdoor sculpture in the United States. The program was initiated in 1989 and ended in 1999. History Save Outdoor Sculpture! was initiated by Herit ...

" program in August 1994. In 1998, the statue was relocated to Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park. One of the missing bronze German helmets was found in approximately 2018 by an operations manager at the cemetery.

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* 1930s establishments in Washington (state) 1932 establishments in the United States 1932 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Washington (state) Monuments and memorials in Seattle Outdoor sculptures in Seattle Sculptures of men in Washington (state) Seattle Center Statues in Washington (state) World War I memorials in the United States Relocated buildings and structures in Washington (state) {{Washington-sculpture-stub

See also

References

External links