Bonhams 1793 : Felix de Weldon, (American, 1907-2003) Memoralilia relating to the 1954 Marine Corps Memorial, Arlington Washington D.C., circa 1950-54 13

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22 Feb 2013 13:00 EST New York
World War II: The Pacific Theater
Back to auction 21082

Felix de Weldon, (American, 1907-2003)
Memoralilia relating to the 1954 Marine Corps Memorial, Arlington
Washington D.C., circa 1950-54

A collection of 13 items relating to the design and construction of the 1954 Marine Corps Memorial comprising:
Three pencil and charcoal sketches of preliminary designs for the design the Memorial and its base, signed FdW, one with a base in the shape of island of Iwo Jima, the others on a domed base, all substantially higher than the pedestal that it rests on today. various sizes 18in. x 24in. and smaller . Framed and glazed.
A period photograph of a model setting with the memorial in the center and landscaping around. 11in. x 14in. Framed and glazed.
A plaster model of the Arlington Memorial with a wire for a flag pole and a period flag, possibly a plaster maquette similar to the one used in the photograph above. length 8 in, height (to the flag) 11in.
8 US Marine Corps press photos showing the men and de Weldon working on the'Iwo Statue', one duplicated, de Weldon posed in various parts of the plaster memorial, the final one on an easel at lower right, showing the photograph above and 2 other plans of the Memorial. (13)

Sold for US$ 1,875 inc. premium

Footnotes

Provenance:
The War Museum

The Marine Corps Memorial at Arlington is one of the finest and most recognized of all the wartime memorials. Plans had been afoot for de Weldon to build a larger memorial in 1946 before the original monument was forced from its position on Constitution Avenue. The lack of a memorial to the Marines spurred them on and following Congressional approval for a site just outside the walls of the Arlington cemetery in late 1940s, de Weldon and his new team began working on the plaster version of the memorial in 1951. It took two years to complete the plaster version, which then had to be cut up into 35 pieces each taken separately to the Bedi-Rassy foundry in New York. the final memorial was bolted together and unveiled on November 10 1954. A permanent monument to the Marine Corps.