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Daniel Chester French was approached in 1897 to create a memorial monument for Asa, John and Samuel Melvin, three brothers who died in the Civil War. Their surviving brother, James C. Melvin, commissioned the memorial.
The Melvin Memorial was created by French in 1906-1908 and it was installed in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts. See my Daniel Chester French: The "Melvin Memorial" page for images of the "Melvin Memorial" in situ.
In 1912, the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (French himself was a trustee of the Museum), approached French about his making a copy of the Melvin Memorial for the Museum. French worked on the new monument, called "Mourning Victory" from 1912-1915 at which time it was given to the Museum.
The sculpture depicts an image of "Victory" emerging from the marble, eyes downcast, hair billowing and draped in an American flag (stars are visible at the top and sides. It is one of French's most dramatic works of art and combines grief with triumph, commemorating the noble sacrifice of the three Melvin brothers.
All photos below were taken by Douglas Yeo, October, 2001.
Daniel Chester French's "Mourning Victory," as it stands in the American
Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Click HERE
to download a higher resolution image of this photo. |
A closeup of French's "Mourning Victory." Click HERE
to download a higher resolution image of this photo. |
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