Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc is a 1922 cast of the 1896 statue sculpted by French artist Paul Dubois. It stands in the center of the grand terrace at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, D.C., on a granite base designed by McKim, Mead & White. The bronze work depicts the French heroine, patron saint, and national symbol riding into battle with a sword raised as she looks toward the sky. It is the only equestrian statue in Washington, D.C. that depicts a woman and is one of several public artworks in the park. The statue was given by the Society of Women of France of New York and is owned and maintained by the National Park Service.
March 2022 © Ted Eytan · CC BY-SA 2.0
April 2008 © Timothy Vollmer · CC BY 2.0
April 2006 © dbking · CC BY 2.0
October 2024 © S. Dudley · Public domain
January 1922 © National Photo Company Collection · Public domain
Identification | |
| Title | Joan of Arc |
| Type | equestrian statue |
Historical context | |
| 1929 event details | Active duty military members and Veterans of Foreign Wars attended; the Marine Band played the national anthems of each country; a military airplane flew over Meridian Hill Park and dropped thousands of poppies |
| 1929 event speakers | French Ambassador Paul Claudel and Carlo Polifeme |
| 1929 event presiding official | Ulysses S. Grant III |
| 1929 event organizer | The Society of Women of France of New York |
| 1929 commemorative event | A 500th-anniversary event marking Joan of Arc's successful assault on St. Loup during the siege of Orléans was held at the statue in 1929 |
| Congressional approval | Act of Congress (42 Stat. 468) approved the statue's placement on March 20, 1922 |
| 1916 proposal context | First proposal for a Washington, D.C. cast made in May 1916 |
| 1889 presentation | The plaster version was presented at the Paris Salon in 1889 |
| Original work date | 1896 |
| Cast date | 1922 |
Creator | |
| Pedestal designer | McKim, Mead & White |
| Pedestal carvers | Either the Rockport Granite Company, or H. L. Davis of the Harrison Granite Company and A. Le Poidevin & Co., Inc. |
| Sculptor | Paul Dubois |
| Sculptor nationality | French |
Materials | |
| Foundry | Rudier Foundry |
| Statue material | bronze |
| Original work material | plaster |
| Pedestal material | granite |
| Statue patina | green patina due to exposure to the elements |
Iconography and meaning | |
| Horse details | front right foot and left back foot raised |
| Figure details | body slightly twisted, right arm raised behind her, right hand holding a sword, left hand holding the horse's reins, wearing a helmet with a raised visor, looking skywards |
| Pose | riding a trotting horse and leading troops into battle |
| Depicted subject | Joan of Arc, the French heroine and patron saint |
Location and ownership | |
| Salute at unveiling | 17-gun salute fired from Fort Myer |
| Unveiled by | First Lady Florence Harding and Elisa Jusserand |
| Ceremonial participants | American soldiers and sailors carried Cross of Lorraine and Joan of Arc banners; the United States Marine Band played La Marseillaise and The Star-Spangled Banner |
| Dedication decorations | French and American flags and other decorations on the temporary stand |
| Dedication attendees | President Warren G. Harding; First Lady Florence Harding; French Ambassador Jean Jules Jusserand and his wife Elisa; Secretary of War John W. Weeks; Anne Rogers Minor; Charles Wood; other attendees |
| Dedication location | Meridian Hill Park |
| Dedication date | January 6, 1922 |
| Current location | center of the grand terrace, just north of the Cascading Waterfall, Meridian Hill Park, Washington, D.C., United States |
| Setting | urban park |
| Ownership and maintenance | Owned and maintained by the National Park Service, an agency of the United States Department of the Interior |
| Public art context | One of several artworks in Meridian Hill Park, including the Serenity statue, the Dante Alighieri statue, the James Buchanan Memorial, and the Noyes Armillary Sphere |
Discovery and provenance | |
| Other casts | In front of the Church of St. Augustine in Paris and St Maurice's Church in Strasbourg |
| Base contents | Stones and dirt from France and a copper box |
| Gift from | Society of Women of France of New York |
| Production and installation costs paid by | The Society of Women of France of New York |
| Initial proposal date | May 1916 |
| Original work location | In front of Reims Cathedral |
| Proposed by | Carlo Polifeme, president of the Society of Women of France of New York |
| Completed work installed | 1896 |
| Plaster version presented | 1889 at the Paris Salon |
| Installation overseen by | Clarence O. Sherrill, director of the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds |
| Production oversight | Overseen by the French Minister of Fine Arts |
| Resolution introducing placement | Senator Frank B. Brandegee introduced a resolution in 1920 to install the statue in Washington, D.C. |
| Site chosen by | The United States Commission of Fine Arts |
Significance | |
| Distinctive significance | The only equestrian statue in Washington, D.C. depicting a woman |
| Historical significance of salute | First time the U.S. military fired such a salute in honor of a woman |
History and restoration | |
| Vandalism history | Repeatedly vandalized since installation; damaged in 1936 by children climbing on top of it |
| Sword theft and replacement history | The sword was first stolen in December 1932, recovered the following month bent but unbroken, and has been repeatedly stolen and replaced since the 1930s; by 1947 the National Capital Parks had replaced it several times |
| 2024 sword installation | Installed as part of Women’s History Month commemoration |
| 2024 sword replacement cost | $18,000 |
| Sword replacement | A new sword was installed in 2018; another sword was stolen in 2016 |
| 2024 restoration | Restored by the Rock Creek Conservancy; repairs included cracks in the pedestal and missing parts of the horse's bridle and spur |
| 1977 repair | Removed by the National Park Service for repairs costing $2,330 and reinstalled in 1978 |
| 2011 restoration | Restored in 2011 at a cost of $43,039 |