 ''Spirit of the American Navy'' at Clearwater, Florida. Photo: Earl Goldsmith, The Woodlands, Texas. |
''Spirit of the American Navy'' at Naperville, Illinois.
Photo: Steve Hyett, Naperville. |
August 1927 ad in American Stone Trade magazine announcing the availability of "The Spirit of the Americn Navy".
1927: "THE SPIRIT OF THE AMERICAN NAVY"
After his success with "The Spirit of the American Doughboy", Viquesney created another life-size World War I tribute, "The Spirit of the American Navy". Compared to his Doughboy, it sold poorly; only seven copies of the "Spirit of the American Navy" are known to exist. They are located at Kingman, Arizona; Clearwater, Florida; Naperville, Illinois; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Granite and Hobart, Oklahoma; and Crowell, Texas. The last is also unique in being the only stone version in existence.
There is, however, one more "Navy" statue that is installed at Palatka, Florida, along with other known Viquesney statues. It was long thought to be a variant version of "The Spirit of the American Navy", but it appears in a 1926 Friedley-Voshardt foundry catalog, where it is called simply, "Sailor", with an item number S9008. It's the only Navy statue placed by Viquesney that is posed differently from the others. Palatka is also home to a variant design Doughboy, leading me to believe that both this Doughboy and Sailor might be stock items from Friedley-Voshardt that Viquesney used to fulfill Palatka's large order of four statues. This notion is bolstered by the fact that Palatka's variant Doughboy and Sailor are not unique, and appear in other locations not associated with Viquesney. The Smithsonian Institution's Inventory of American Sculpture has the Palatka Sailor still mistakenly identified as Viquesney's "Spirit of the American Navy".
The statue shown above, right, was once the only full-size Viquesney sculpture known to be privately owned. It was discovered standing inside the Brass Anchor Ships Store in Pentwater, Michigan. It was found in a Chicago, Illinois area junkyard in the late 1970s and bought by the owners of the store. The statue may have once stood in any one of the dozens of outlying communities surrounding Chicago, but inquiries to the official Chicago website revealed no record of any such statue ever standing in the city proper, nor any record of sale. It was moved from Chicago to Pentwater when the owners moved their business there. It was sold to the community of Naperville, Illinois in June of 2013, where, in accordance with the unofficial tradition, it was placed within sight of the town's Viquesney Doughboy and dedicated the following October 13, the "birthday" of the U. S. Navy.
"The Spirit of the American Navy" at Kingman, Arizona is the only example of this piece that stands on the same base with "The Spirit of the American Doughboy"; all the other outdoor, publicly-displayed Viquesney Doughboy and Navy statues are mounted separately, but still near each other. There are no examples of "The Spirit of the American Navy" standing alone without his Doughboy "buddy" nearby.
The piece was available in miniature, but like the full-size monuments, it, too, didn't sell nearly as well as the miniature Doughboys. Sharp-eyed readers will notice the figure was recycled into a later piece called the "Spirit of America" plaque.
There is, however, one more "Navy" statue that is installed at Palatka, Florida, along with other known Viquesney statues. It was long thought to be a variant version of "The Spirit of the American Navy", but it appears in a 1926 Friedley-Voshardt foundry catalog, where it is called simply, "Sailor", with an item number S9008. It's the only Navy statue placed by Viquesney that is posed differently from the others. Palatka is also home to a variant design Doughboy, leading me to believe that both this Doughboy and Sailor might be stock items from Friedley-Voshardt that Viquesney used to fulfill Palatka's large order of four statues. This notion is bolstered by the fact that Palatka's variant Doughboy and Sailor are not unique, and appear in other locations not associated with Viquesney. The Smithsonian Institution's Inventory of American Sculpture has the Palatka Sailor still mistakenly identified as Viquesney's "Spirit of the American Navy".
The statue shown above, right, was once the only full-size Viquesney sculpture known to be privately owned. It was discovered standing inside the Brass Anchor Ships Store in Pentwater, Michigan. It was found in a Chicago, Illinois area junkyard in the late 1970s and bought by the owners of the store. The statue may have once stood in any one of the dozens of outlying communities surrounding Chicago, but inquiries to the official Chicago website revealed no record of any such statue ever standing in the city proper, nor any record of sale. It was moved from Chicago to Pentwater when the owners moved their business there. It was sold to the community of Naperville, Illinois in June of 2013, where, in accordance with the unofficial tradition, it was placed within sight of the town's Viquesney Doughboy and dedicated the following October 13, the "birthday" of the U. S. Navy.
"The Spirit of the American Navy" at Kingman, Arizona is the only example of this piece that stands on the same base with "The Spirit of the American Doughboy"; all the other outdoor, publicly-displayed Viquesney Doughboy and Navy statues are mounted separately, but still near each other. There are no examples of "The Spirit of the American Navy" standing alone without his Doughboy "buddy" nearby.
The piece was available in miniature, but like the full-size monuments, it, too, didn't sell nearly as well as the miniature Doughboys. Sharp-eyed readers will notice the figure was recycled into a later piece called the "Spirit of America" plaque.
 Above: ''The Spirit of the American Navy'' in miniature. Photo: Harlan Ogle, Monticello, Kentucky. Right: The piece as described in a Viquesney brochure. |
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