Victory
1892–1903; this cast, 1914 or after (by 1916)
Medium
Bronze, gilt
Dimensions
38 x 9 1/2 x 18 1/2 in., (96.5 x 24.1 x 47 cm)
Classification
Sculpture
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1917
Accession Number
17.90.1
Tags
About this artwork
Augustus Saint-Gaudens' "Victory" represents the culminating achievement of American Gilded Age sculpture. Created between 1892 and 1903, this gilded bronze figure was designed as the crowning element of the William Tecumseh Sherman Monument, ultimately dedicated at Grand Army Plaza in Manhattan on May 30, 1903. The allegorical Victory, depicted as the Greek goddess Nike with outstretched wings, leads Sherman's horse forward while grasping a palm frond—ancient symbol of triumph. The model for Vi...
About the Artist
Augustus Saint-Gaudens · 1848–1907
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907) was an Irish-born American sculptor widely regarded as the greatest American sculptor of the nineteenth century. Born in Dublin to a French father and Irish mother, he was brought to New York City as an infant. He trained as a cameo cutter, studied at the Cooper Union and the National Academy of Design, and then traveled to Paris, where he studied at the École de...