Victory (from the Sherman Monument)

Artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens (American (born Ireland), 1848-1907)

DateModeled 1902, this cast about 1908

Dimensions42 3/4 × 24 × 33 in. (108.6 × 61 × 83.8 cm)

Mediumgilded bronze

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

1986.34

Not on View

Label TextDerived from ancient Greek sculpture, this winged woman representing Victory strides powerfully forward. She is crowned with laurel leaves, symbolizing victory and achievement. She holds a palm branch, symbol of military victory. This and the American eagle on her chest refer to the specific military accomplishment of William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), the Civil War general who led the Union forces in a destructive march across Georgia. This sculpture is a reduced version of the figure from the over-life-size, gilded Sherman Monument in Central Park, New York. Augustus Saint Gaudens, the leading American sculptor of his day, effectively combined heroic, but realistic, portrait sculpture with generalized figures of ideal beauty inspired by classical art. He frequently made smaller versions of his most popular large figures. This cast, one of nine made, was owned by Saint Gaudens’s widow.Published ReferencesThe Grand Gallery, Sixth International Exhibition Presented by C.I.N.O.A., New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1974, no. 167, repr.

Dryfhout, J. H., The Work of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Hanover (NH), and London, 1982, p. 256 (as owned by J. J. Thompson).

The Arts of the American Renaissance, New York, Hirschl & Adler, 1985, no. 66, repr. (col.).

From the Studio, New York, Hirschl & Adler, 1986, no. 28, pp. 6-7, repr. (col.).

"Museum and Departmental Announcements," Newsletter, Midwest Art History Society, 15A, Spring, 1988, p. 9.

The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Treasures, Toledo, 1995, p. 151, repr. (col.).

Tolles, Thayer, ed., American Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. 1, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999, p. 320.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 291, repr. (col.).

Exhibition HistoryDetroit, Detroit Museum of Art, Exhibition of the Works of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1915, no. 24 (lent by Mrs. Augustus Saint-Gaudens).

New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Grand Gallery, Sixth International Exhibition Presented by C.I.N.O.A., 1974, no. 167 (lent by J. J. Thompson).

New York, Hirschl & Adler Galleries, The Art of Collecting, 1984, no. 32 (col.).

New York, Hirschl & Adler, The Arts of the American Renaissance, 1985, no. 66.

New York, Hirschl & Adler, From the Studio, 1986, no. 28.

Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, The American Civil War: Through Artists’ Eyes, April 3-July 5, 2015.

New Haven, CT, Yale University Art Gallery, The Expressive Figure in the American Renaissance, 1876-1917, Sept. 6, 2024 - Jan. 5, 2025.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Judon, Bay, Art Venues: A Guide for Families to Ten Works of Art in the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, 1987, p. [8], repr. (col.).

See also Saint Gaudens, Homer, The Reminiscences of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, London, 1913, vol. II, pp. 62, 123, 134, 135, 290, 291, repr. p. 63.

See also Augustus Saint-Gaudens 1848-1907, un maître de la sculpture américaine, Paris, 1999, p. 138.