Santa Monica (sculpture)

Santa Monica (also known as Saint Monica)[1] is an Art Deco sculpture by Eugene Morahan (1869–1949)[2] installed in Santa Monica's Palisades Park, overlooking the Pacific Ocean in California.

Santa Monica
The sculpture in 2006
ArtistEugene Morahan
Completion date1935
LocationSanta Monica, California, U.S.
Coordinates34°01′00″N 118°30′05″W

Description

The cast-cement sculpture of Saint Monica of Hippo is approximately 10 ft (3.0 m) tall and rests on a concrete base that is approximately 6 ft (1.8 m) tall.[3][4] (Father Juan Crespí visited the nearby Tongva Sacred Springs on an expedition in 1769; the scattered pools of flowing water reminded him of Monica’s tears for her son Augustine, of later Confessions fame.[5] The pre-statehood Rancho Boca de Santa Monica and Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica, and eventually the city, all took the name of the Roman Catholic Saint.)

History

The sculpture is a New Deal artwork funded by the early Public Works of Art Project.[4] The California regional director who commissioned Saint Monica was Merle Armitage.[4] The city of Santa Monica paid for the materials; southern California under Armitage’s leadership was unusually successful compared to other regions in raising money for public artwork cooperatively funded with the PWAP.[6]

The work was dedicated on May 4, 1935.[7][8] The dedication ceremony was set for a “Pioneer Days” event and attended by government dignitaries and community leaders, with music provided by the Santa Monica Municipal Band.[7] Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum had even come to Santa Monica to help his friend Morahan finish the piece before the unveiling ceremony.[7]

The statue was used as the cover image of W. W. Robinson’s 1950 history of Santa Monica.[9]

The work was surveyed by the Smithsonian Institution's Save Outdoor Sculpture! program in 1994.[8]

He climbed into his Mustang and blasted down Wilshire, past the two- and three-story shops and bars and restaurants of Santa Monica, all the way to the end of the road, where Eugene Morahan’s white Art Deco statue of the city’s namesake saint stood, surrounded by gnarled trees and a patch of grass shaped like a heart.

— Anthony Zuiker, Dark Prophecy

See also

References
  1. "Saint Monica". Public Art Archive. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  2. Morahan, Eugene, Statue of Saint Monica in Palisades Park, Santa Monica, circa 1934, archived from the original on 2022-10-15, retrieved 2022-10-15
  3. "Statue Will Honor Town’s Patron Saint." Los Angeles Times, Apr 04, 1934, pp. 4.
  4. Millier, Arthur. "Art Withstands Scrutiny of Hard-Boiled Politicians: Planetarium Obelisk, Park Fountain, Other, Massive Works Continue Under F.E.R.A." Los Angeles Times, Jun 03, 1934, pp. 2.
  5. "Kuruvungna Sacred Springs | Santa Monica Conservancy". www.smconservancy.org. Archived from the original on 2022-10-01. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  6. Millier, Arthur. "Art and Artists: Murals and Monuments Multiply with Federal Aid Schools, Libraries, Parks Gain Permanent Works; Washington Cites Southland's Co-Operation with Art Project." Los Angeles Times, Apr 01, 1934, pp. 1.
  7. "Saint Monica Statue In Palisades Park Celebrates Its 80th Anniversary". SM Mirror. 2014-12-22. Archived from the original on 2022-05-17. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  8. "Santa Monica, (sculpture)". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  9. Robinson, W. W. (1950). Santa Monica: a calendar of events in the making of a city. Los Angeles: Title Insurance and Trust. Archived from the original on 2022-10-15. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
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