An example of a Viquesney lookalike: Josoph Nicolosi's Doughboy at Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, 1930.
It even has two tree stumps on the base, considered a Viquesney hallmark.
It even has two tree stumps on the base, considered a Viquesney hallmark.
VIQUESNEY DOUGHBOY LOOKALIKES
Many WWI statues resemble Viquesney's "Spirit of the American Doughboy" memorial. Or the other way around: In April, 1922, Jules Berchem, owner of American Art Bronze Foundry, the company that produced John Paulding's Doughboy, sued Viquesney for copyright infringement, as they had filed their copyright five months ahead of Viquesney. Either there was a settlement or the lawsuit wasn't successful, as Viquesney's Doughboy continued to be produced until around the start of WWII.
But Viquesney himself had the tables turned on him after he abandoned Friedley-Voshardt Company, the company that had produced his sheet bronze Doughboys until the middle of 1934, for in at least two instances, lookalikes made from Friedley-Voshardt's molds, and re-titled "Spirit of Our Heroes", were placed around 1935 in cemeteries in Blue Ash, Ohio, and Vestal, New York, with the names of two different sculptors on them. The one in Vestal was even "copyrighted" by an "M. Laugle", even though Viquesney still held copyright on the design.
Many lookalike statues are also still listed erroneously as Viquesney's "Spirit of the American Doughboy" in the Smithsonian Inventory of American Sculpture (IAS), and there are some statues in similar poses found outside the U.S., for example Brockville, Ontario, Canada, and Atherton, Queensland, Australia.
There is also a famous 1919 statue, "Le Poilu Victorieux", found all over France, that could be considered the French counterpart of "The Spirit of the American Doughboy". Whether it was the inspiration for Viquesney's 1920 creation is unknown.
But Viquesney himself had the tables turned on him after he abandoned Friedley-Voshardt Company, the company that had produced his sheet bronze Doughboys until the middle of 1934, for in at least two instances, lookalikes made from Friedley-Voshardt's molds, and re-titled "Spirit of Our Heroes", were placed around 1935 in cemeteries in Blue Ash, Ohio, and Vestal, New York, with the names of two different sculptors on them. The one in Vestal was even "copyrighted" by an "M. Laugle", even though Viquesney still held copyright on the design.
Many lookalike statues are also still listed erroneously as Viquesney's "Spirit of the American Doughboy" in the Smithsonian Inventory of American Sculpture (IAS), and there are some statues in similar poses found outside the U.S., for example Brockville, Ontario, Canada, and Atherton, Queensland, Australia.
There is also a famous 1919 statue, "Le Poilu Victorieux", found all over France, that could be considered the French counterpart of "The Spirit of the American Doughboy". Whether it was the inspiration for Viquesney's 1920 creation is unknown.
