From March 20 – 23, the New York Academy of Art will exhibit for public viewing the designs and model for the National World War I Memorial, designed by Academy graduate Sabin Howard. The viewing is free and open to the public and on March 21 at 6:30 pm, Howard will give a free talk at the Academy discussing his design, his training as a sculptor, and winning the commission for the memorial. The New York Academy of Art is the national leader in the promotion, preservation and training of figurative art.
In 2013, an act of Congress created the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission, and sponsored a global design competition. In January 2016, out of 350 entries, sculptor Sabin Howard was awarded the commission to create the National World War I Memorial out of 350 entries, alongside architect Joe Weishaar.
The New York Academy of Art will be displaying the newly created 10-foot scale model of the memorial, reference photographs by Howard of reenactors, and drawings and sketches created for the sculpture. Howard took over 12,000 pictures of actors in authentic World War I uniforms and period costumes and developed a storyline for the memorial, ultimately creating a narrative entitled “A Soldier’s Journey.” The final memorial, when completed in Washington, D.C. will be 65 feet long, with 38 distinct figures and multiple tableaux, and will be the largest bronze sculpture of its kind in the world. The March exhibition this will be the first chance the American public will have to view the models for its newest national memorial.
The 10-foot scale model going on view at the New York Academy of Art was created at the New Zealand special effects company WETA Workshop, best known for their work on the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Through the use of digital technology, WETA used Howard’s drawings as a blueprint to create three-dimensional models, which Howard then turned into fine art sculpture. This creative process represents the first usage of digitization for a national memorial of this size, and accomplished in 7 months a process that previously would have taken 3 to 4 years.
Sabin Howard is an internationally renowned figurative sculptor and draughtsman. He has participated in more than 50 group and solo shows, and his sculptures and drawings have been collected by museums and private collectors all over the world. About his body of work, The New York Times wrote: “Sabin Howard, a sculptor of immense talent, has created some of the last decade’s most substantive realistic sculpture. When viewing his works, visitors may be reminded of the time when Donatello and Rodin walked the earth.” Sabin is the author of The Art of Life, a photoessay about figurative art through the ages. He received his MFA from the New York Academy of Art in 1995 and has served as Visiting Critic and Adjunct Faculty at the Academy.
