General Grant Monument Unveiling and Dedication at West Point Academy April 25, 2019
Acclaimed Sculptor creates 7-1/2ft High Bronze Portrait of Ulysses S. Grant for West Point
WEST POINT, N.Y., April 24, 2019 (Newswire.com) - Internationally known sculptor, Paula Slater, was commissioned to sculpt a full-figure portrait statue of General Ulysses S. Grant for installation at West Point Academy in New York. The bronze sculpture was installed April 18 on an elegant 4ft high solid granite base. The location of the Monument is located between the Thayer Monument and the Sedgwick Monument in its own granite courtyard on The Plain (parade field).
General Grant was an 1843 graduate of West Point and became Commanding General of the Union Army under President Lincoln. This Monument will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Grant’s inauguration as the 18th President of the United States. The project was fully funded by the generous donation of Robert A. McDonald and his wife Diane.
The sculptor said she researched General Grant extensively and worked closely with Sherman Fleek, the Academy’s Command Historian and the curators of the West Point Museum. Her task was to accurately depict Grant as a Four Star General before he became President. His uniform and all the accompanying accoutrements are highly detailed and finely finished.
Slater’s important sculptural works are seen by millions of people each year. She specializes in portraits and has sculpted many large Public Art Monuments, including a huge National Monument and two designated state Landmark Monuments. Her long list of impressive commissioned portraits has included historical figures, Presidents, politicians, celebrities, military heroes, leaders of industry and people from all walks of life. Slater says she strives to breathe life into the portraits she sculpts and wants the viewer to peer into the eyes of the sculpture and feel the individual’s spirit therein.
With this portrait, Slater said she wanted to capture Grant’s anguish, his heroism and his humility. Imbued in this portrait of Grant is the torturous weight of life and death decisions he was required to make. It is this glimpse into his deeply enduring humanity that inspires and stays with the viewer.
Paula Slater Sculpture
PaulaBSlater@gmail.com
707-921-8175
800-675-5067
Source: Paula Slater Sculpture