The Arts of War and The Arts of Peace
The Arts of War and The Arts of Peace are bronze, fire-gilded statue groups on Lincoln Memorial Circle in West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Commissioned in 1929 to complement the plaza constructed on the east side of the Lincoln Memorial as part of the Arlington Memorial Bridge approaches, their completion was delayed until 1939 for budgetary reasons. The models were placed into storage, and the statues not cast until 1950. They were erected in 1951, and repaired in 1974.
The Arts of War, by Leo Friedlander (2007)
The Arts of Peace, by James Earle Fraser (2008)
Original approved plan of 1926 for the design of Arlington Memorial Bridge's eastern and western approaches, and the treatment for the entrance to Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway.
Statuary mock-ups on view during the construction of Arlington Memorial Bridge in May 1928.
West Potomac Park is a U.S. national park in Washington, D.C., adjacent to the National Mall. It includes the parkland that extends south of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, from the Lincoln Memorial to the grounds of the Washington Monument. The park is the site of many national landmarks, including the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, George Mason Memorial, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.
View of West Potomac Park from the Washington Monument
West Potomac Park seen from across the Tidal Basin with cherry trees in bloom
The Jefferson Memorial in West Potomac Park