The E. M. Viquesney "Spirit of the American Doughboy" Database
 Viquesney's 1922 copyright stone Doughboy at Madison, West Virginia. Photo: Seth Gaines, Rockville, Maryland. |
 An unsigned, uncopyrighted look-alike at Headland, Alabama. Photo: Pamela Smith, Clanton, Alabama. |
THE STONE DOUGHBOYS
Although Viquesney's two metal Doughboys, copyrighted in 1920 and 1934, were his best-selling versions, a third version, copyrighted in 1922, was described in the sculptor's ads and brochures as being made of "beautiful, pure Italian marble" (more on that, below).
But it appears there might have been a fourth version, also of marble, that was somewhat less detailed, in that it bore no gas mask pouch, field pack, and canteen, and no bayonet on the rifle. The five known examples are unsigned, untitled, and uncopyrighted. But it's now known that at least two of the stone statues (one of each version) were made and sold by McNeel Marble Company of Marietta, Georgia. Since one of them (Madison, Georgia) is known to be a Viquesney, it could be considered the "smoking gun" that ties him to the other (Clarksville, Tennessee), since both statues were made by the same company. But it could be just as likely that McNeel Marble was producing its own knock-offs and passing them off as Viquesney's work.
There may be a reason to suspect such less-than-honest business dealings regarding McNeel: It's come to light that these statues, advertised as being made of "Italian" marble, have turned out to be composed of local Alabama or Georgia "marble" (partly metamorphosed limestone). On at least two occasions (Headland, Alabama and Clarksville, Tennessee) customers were told there would be a delay in delivery of several weeks or months while the statue or marble was being shipped from "Italy". In the case of Clarksville, during restoration in 2009 it was found through chemical analysis of a microcore sample that their suspicions of local origin were confirmed. Unfortunately, this kind of misrepresentation was also typical of Viquesney's business tactics.
As of now, there are three known genuine Viquesney stone Doughboys (Madison, Georgia; Parsons, Kansas; and Madison, West Virginia), and five that may or may not be his.
But it appears there might have been a fourth version, also of marble, that was somewhat less detailed, in that it bore no gas mask pouch, field pack, and canteen, and no bayonet on the rifle. The five known examples are unsigned, untitled, and uncopyrighted. But it's now known that at least two of the stone statues (one of each version) were made and sold by McNeel Marble Company of Marietta, Georgia. Since one of them (Madison, Georgia) is known to be a Viquesney, it could be considered the "smoking gun" that ties him to the other (Clarksville, Tennessee), since both statues were made by the same company. But it could be just as likely that McNeel Marble was producing its own knock-offs and passing them off as Viquesney's work.
There may be a reason to suspect such less-than-honest business dealings regarding McNeel: It's come to light that these statues, advertised as being made of "Italian" marble, have turned out to be composed of local Alabama or Georgia "marble" (partly metamorphosed limestone). On at least two occasions (Headland, Alabama and Clarksville, Tennessee) customers were told there would be a delay in delivery of several weeks or months while the statue or marble was being shipped from "Italy". In the case of Clarksville, during restoration in 2009 it was found through chemical analysis of a microcore sample that their suspicions of local origin were confirmed. Unfortunately, this kind of misrepresentation was also typical of Viquesney's business tactics.
As of now, there are three known genuine Viquesney stone Doughboys (Madison, Georgia; Parsons, Kansas; and Madison, West Virginia), and five that may or may not be his.
