Bronze, "Pulling a Soldier to Safety", by Donald De Lue.

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Extraordinarily powerful and poignant, this sculpture depicts a powerful nude helmeted soldier carrying and pulling his brother to safety after … Read more Extraordinarily powerful and poignant, this sculpture depicts a powerful nude helmeted soldier carrying and pulling his brother to safety after a serious injury on the battlefield. Both figures are nude, and the relationship brings to mind equally powerful Biblical scenes such as the descent from the cross, or pietàs that are signature works by great artists such as Michelangelo. Sculpted by Donald Harcourt De Lue (American, October 5, 1897 – August 26, 1988) for a war memorial that was never built, De Lue was guided by John Harbeson, consulting architect to the American Battle Monuments Commission, who stated that memorials to World War II should embody the “sacrifice motive,” rather than the “glory motive” of war. De Lue's distinctive sculptures -- usually depicting nude, slender figures with exaggerated, Mannerist musculature -- changed very little from the 1930s to the 1970s. The artist apprenticed with Boston sculptor Richard Recchia, studied with Bela Pratt and served as chief assistant to Bryant Baker before he launched an independent career. De Lue's first major commission was a set of powerful relief sculpture for the Federal courthouse and post office in downtown Philadelphia, which command the street to this day. He also sculpted the Boy Scout Memorial in Washington, D.C., the Rocket Thrower for the 1964 New York World's Fair, and many other monuments and relief sculptures across America. This piece was sculpted in 1950, and later cast under De Lue's supervision by the Tallix bronze foundry in 1986. The piece is signed on the base, and is mounted on its original marble base. See less