Study for War Memorial: War monument

Object NameDrawing

Artist / Maker Christian Petersen (Danish - American, 1885 - 1961)

Date1944

OriginUSA

MediumBlack conte on paper, within sketchbook

Dimensions12 x 18 in. (30.5 x 45.7 cm)

ClassificationsDrawings

Credit LinePurchased by University Museums from Mary Petersen with the Christian Petersen Memorial Fund. In the Christian Petersen Art Collection, Christian Petersen Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberum92.317

Status

Not on view

Collections

Label TextThe connection to a grieving mother is portrayed in this drawing which is inscribed, “Let the voice of silence speak for those who made the supreme sacrifice for God and country,” and includes a female with her hands across her chest and looking upward. The costume worn by this figure -- long skirts with an apron, hair pulled back in a bun -- is one that he used in other drawings and sculptures to designate a mother and, particularly, a mourning mother. This drawing leaves no doubt that Petersen intended these ideas to be applied to a war memorial.

Locations