Victory

Copied William Zorach, Victory, 1944, French marble, 42 381512 18 in. (107.738.130.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Susan Morse Hilles, 1971.76

Artwork Details

Title
Victory
Date
1944
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
42 381512 18 in. (107.738.130.8 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Susan Morse Hilles
Mediums
Mediums Description
French marble
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure female — nude
  • Allegory — other — triumph
  • Figure female — torso
Object Number
1971.76

Artwork Description

William Zorach created Victory to memorialize the 1944 Allied victory over German forces after D day. It was one of the artist's biggest successes, and one enthusiastic critic judged it "one of the finest sculptures ever done in this country" (Lansford, Art Digest, March 15, 1947). To suggest the early tradition of commemorating battles with statues of the goddess Victory, Zorach evoked the "simple pure loveliness" of an ancient Greek statue by making the work as simple as possible, covering the torso in the barest of skirts, and creating a smooth silhouette (Zorach, "General Survey of the Background of Modern Sculpture," Lecture I, presented at Columbia University, Summer 1939, Zorach Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution).