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So tweets about this Iowa Civil War monument, called Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, have been making the rounds on Twitter. 1/11
Er, rather, tweets about this statue, a part of the monument, have been making the rounds. 2/11
A little backstory, if you're interested, this statue was designed by Harriet Ketcham, a well regarded Midwest artist who was famous for her clay sculptures. You can learn more here: 3/11 https://dsmpublicartfoundation.org/artist/harriet-a-ketcham/
She actually petitioned the legislature to fund a series of busts of Iowa's Civil War heroes. At a visit to the Capitol she also told legislators about her idea for a grand monument that would hearken to European monuments such as the Frederick the Great statue in Berlin: 4/11
She was also a painter and had at least one painting showcased in the Iowa Capitol, although I think that painting has been lost. 5/11
The Iowa legislature in 1888 decided to hold a contest for a monument commemorating Iowa's Civil War vets. Ketcham's design won (see below). She died in 1890 before construction began. The cornerstone was laid in 1894. 6/11
Here's where things get more interesting, Iowa hired artist Carl Rohl-Smith to execute Ketcham's vision for the monument. He altered several important parts of her design, including the basic equestrian design, which became instead a tower like the Berlin Victory Column: 7/11
He also, wait for it, altered the female figure. Ketcham seemed to have two such figures, a woman representing History reading to a youth, and an older, weeping woman representing Iowa. Rohl-Smith substituted those figures with the statue of the woman with exposed breasts. 8/11
That modification caused a lot of controversy. She is supposed to represent Iowa as a young mother nourishing the state. Iowans found it scandalous. That's why the monument, completed in 1896, wasn't dedicated until 1945 (you see from the plaque he gets most of the credit). 9/11
I've seen the monument. It's typical in some ways, lovely in others. Truly, the female figure feels odd. One can say she's the allegory Rohl-Smith said she was, but I've never seen a woman nurse a child this way and her general expression borders on exctasy, not duty. 10/11
Divorced from the monument the figure is quite lovely and perhaps even empowering. Attached to it as she is, though, I can sum up the overall effect on me in 3 letter, wtf. 11/11
