Administered by St. John's College Annapolis Maryland 21404
Located St. John's College In front of McDowell Hall, College Avenue Annapolis Maryland
Date:
1920
Notes:
Save Outdoor Sculpture, Maryland survey, 1993.
Image on file.
(On relief, lower left:) SCHULER 1920 (On relief, lower right:) J. ARTHUR LIMERICK CO. FOUNDERS BALTIMORE (Around border of shield:) ST. JOHANNIS C ANNAPOLE IN MARYLANDIA SIGILLUM COMMUNE COLLEGII (On relief, above figure:) FOR CIVILIZATION LIBERTY COUNTRY (Incised on base, front:) 1920 (On stele, reverse:) ERECTED BY/THE ALUMNI OF/ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE/TO THEIR FELLOW ALUMNI/WHO IN THE WORLD WAR/GAVE THEIR ALL./FOUR HUNDRED & FIFTY TWO/OF OUR MEN/ANSWERED THEIR COUNTRY'S CALL./THERE IS NO RECORD/THAT ONE FAILED/IN HIS DUTY (Honor roll on shield lists names and graduation dates of alumni who died in World War I)
(On base, reverse:) (small circular ornament) THE SYMBOLISM OF THE BRONZE TABLET (small circular ornament) / THE FIGURE IS THE ALMA MATER WITH DRAWN SWORD AND WITH HEAD CROWNED WITH THE LAUREL, BOWED IN MOURNING/ OVER THOSE OF HER ALUMNI WHOSE NAMES ARE INSCRIBED ON THE SHIELD. THESE SHE CROWNS WITH THE PALM AS A TOKEN/OF ETERNAL PEACE. HER SHIELD IS AN ADAPTATION OF THE COLLEGE SEAL ON WHICH IS EMBLAZONED THE HONOR ROLL. THE/ARBOR VITAE, OR TREE OF LIFE, IS INTRODUCED AT THE RIGHT TO SYMBOLIZE THAT THE NAMES ON THE SHIELD WILL FOREVER/REMAIN ROOTED DEEP IN THE MEMORY OF THE ALMA MATER. THE ALMA MATER IS DEPICTED STANDING IN ARMOR TO SIGNIFY/THAT THE COLLEGE WAS ACTIVE IN THE WAR AND BEFORE RESUMING EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES HAS ENSHRINED HER HEROES/IN A FIELD OF GLORY. THE ALMA MATER WAS FOUNDED IN 1696. / THIS MEMORIAL ERECTED IN 1920. signed Founder's mark appears.
The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.
Summary:
Full-length allegorical female figure of the Alma Mater stands leaning on an oval-shaped shield. She wears a form-fitting Classical garment, breastplate and holds a sword, pointing downward, in her proper right hand. Her proper left elbow rests on the shield, and she holds a palm in her proper left hand. The College crest is at the top of the shield and there is an eagle at the bottom. Laurel and an "arbor vitae" or Tree of Life, are also present in the relief. There is a Greek Key frieze along the top of the stele.
