Walker Hancock

Hancock was posted in London in early 1944, where he researched and wrote reports on monuments and art works in occupied France.

"He was one of 10 officers sent to the continent after D-Day to implement the Allied Expeditionary Force's policy to avoid, wherever military exigency would permit, damage to structures, documents or other items of historical or artistic importance and to prevent further deterioration of those already damaged. With personnel and equipment for this seemingly hopeless task in short supply, Captain Hancock had to rely on his ingenuity, resourcefulness, and extensive knowledge of European cultural history to rescue countless treasures from dampness, fire, weather and the depredations of looters and troops requiring billets."[4]^:32

Zuni Bird Charmer (1931), St. Louis Zoo

Hancock's first major commission was the Jessie Tennille Maschmeyer Memorial Fountain (1931–32) for the St. Louis Zoo.[9] A drinking fountain featuring a pedestal flanked by twin basins, the severe Art Deco-Pueblo architecture of its granite base served as inspiration for Hancock's central figure, a Zuni Bird Charmer.[4]^:21 The larger-than-life-sized figure of a loin-clothed kneeling man with a bird perched on each wrist, won Hancock PAFA's 1932 Fellowship Prize.[5]^:279 The fountain is located beside the east entrance to the zoo's Bird House.[10]

Charles Lindbergh worked as a flight instructor and airmail pilot in St. Louis in the 1920s. On May 20–21, 1927, he piloted a locally-built plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, on the first successful solo non-stop trans-Atlantic flight—from Long Island, New York to Paris, France. This won him the $25,000 Orteig Prize, and made him an international celebrity. Later that year, Lindbergh lent his awards, trophies and memorabilia to the Missouri Historical Society, which exhibited them at the city's Jefferson Memorial Building.[11] Lindberg deeded the collection to the historical society in 1935,[11] and in 1941 commissioned Hancock to create a work honoring those who had sponsored and built The Spirit of St. Louis.[11] Hancock's marble bas-relief plaque[12] – an allegory portraying Louis IX of France (Saint Louis) launching a falcon into flight – was installed at the Missouri History Museum in 1942.[4]^:31

Angel of the Resurrection (1950-52), Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial, 30th Street Station, Philadelphia

Perhaps Hancock's most famous work is the Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial (1950–52), at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 39-foot (11.9 m) monument is dedicated to the 1,307 PRR employees who died in the war, whose names are listed on bronze panels on its tall, black-granite base. Hancock's heroic bronze, Angel of the Resurrection, depicts Michael the Archangel raising up a fallen soldier from the Flames of War. It was his favorite sculpture.[5]^:279

In 1964, Hancock took over supervision of the Confederate Memorial at Stone Mountain, Georgia.[3]^:221–23 The proposed relief carving, the size of a football field, had been begun in 1917 by Gutzon Borglum. Borglum was dismissed in 1925, and replaced by Augustus Lukeman.[13] (Borglum went on to design and carve Mount Rushmore.) No work had been done since 1928.[3]^:221–23 Hancock simplified Lukeman's model, eliminating the horses' lower bodies and legs, and made design adjustments as problems arose with the carving or stone. He modeled towers to flank the carving, but they were never executed due to lack of money.[3]^:221–23 Roy Faulkner completed the carving of the memorial in 1972.[5]^:280

For Trinity Episcopal Church, Topsfield, Massachusetts, Hancock created an immersive sculpture group, The Garden of Gethsemane (1965–66). On one side of a garden, a kneeling figure of Christ, seen from behind, agonizes about offering himself up for sacrifice, while on the other side his disciples, Peter, James, John, huddle together asleep. The sculpture group was commissioned as a memorial to Jonathan Daniels, an Episcopal seminarian murdered during the Civil Rights Movement. A duplicate of Christ Praying is at Rev. Daniels's alma mater, the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A duplicate of the 2-part work is at a Trappist monastery in Kentucky.[14]

Loyalty (1936–38), Soldiers' Memorial, St. Louis, Missouri – one of four monumental sculpture groups that flank the entrances

General Douglas MacArthur (1969), United States Military Academy, West Point, New York

Christ in Majesty (1972), High Altar, National Cathedral, Washington, DC

James Madison (1974-76), James Madison Memorial Building, Library of Congress

• Fountain sculpture: Dancing Tritons (bronze, 1928–29), Parrish Art Museum (former building), 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton, Long Island, New York.[4]^:10
• Zuni Bird Charmer (bronze, 1931–32), Bird House, St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis, Missouri.[15]
• Pedimental sculpture group: The Bond of Postal Union (limestone, 1934), Pennsylvania Avenue facade, New Post Office Building (now William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building), Washington, D.C. (with Adolph Alexander Weinman).[16]
• 5 bas relief busts: Beatty, Foch, Pershing, Diaz, Jacques, (bronze, 1934–35), Liberty Memorial, National World War I Monument, Kansas City, Missouri.
• Architectural sculpture, 5 bas relief panels: The Round Up, First Plowing, Coming of the Railroad, Pioneer Founders, River Traffic (limestone, 1936), north façade, Kansas City City Hall, Kansas City, Missouri.
• 4 monumental sculpture groups: Vision,[17] Courage,[18] Sacrifice,[19] Loyalty (granite, 1936–38), Soldiers' Memorial, St. Louis, Missouri.
• Bas relief panel: The Post Rider (marble, 1936–38), West Springfield Post Office, West Springfield, Massachusetts.[20]
• Bust: Piatt Andrew (bronze, 1938), Museum of Franco-American Cooperation, Blérancourt, France.[21]
  • A replica is at American Friends Service Committee Headquarters in New York City.
• Triton Fountain (plaster, 1938–39, destroyed),[4]^:66 1939 New York World's Fair, Flushing, Queens, New York City.
  • A one-third-scale version of one of the triton figures is at Elizabeth Gordon Smith Park, Gloucester, Massachusetts.[22]
• Judge Charles Lincoln Brown (marble, 1940), Philadelphia Municipal Courthouse, 1801 Vine Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[23]
• Bust: Stephen Collins Foster (bronze, 1941), Hall of Fame for Great Americans, Bronx, New York City.[24]
• Frank P. Brown Medal (bronze, 1941), awarded by the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[25]
• Bas relief plaque: The Spirit of St. Louis (marble, 1941–42), Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, Missouri. Hancock's allegory for Charles Lindbergh's 1927 flight across the Atlantic Ocean features Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France) launching the flight of a falcon.[12]
• Air Medal (1942).
• World War II Memorial Tablet (bronze, 1947–49), Central High School, St. Louis, Missouri. Inscription: "Central High School: To Those Who Gave Their Lives For Their Country, 1941–1945."
• Bust: Robert Frost (bronze, 1950), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts.[26]
• Angel of the Resurrection (bronze, 1950–52), Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial, 30th Street Station, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  • Hancock's one-third-scale plaster model is at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
• President Dwight David Eisenhower Inaugural Medal (gold, 1953), Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.[27]
  • Hancock also created the 1957 inaugural medal, which features profiles of both President Eisenhower and Vice-President Richard M. Nixon.
• John Joseph Eagan (bronze, 1953–55), American Cast Iron Pipe Company, Birmingham, Alabama.
• Relief bust: Andrew W. Mellon (marble, 1954), National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.[28]
• Bust: Woodrow Wilson (bronze, 1956), Hall of Fame for Great Americans, Bronx, New York City.[29]
• Bust: Governor Percival P. Baxter (bronze, 1956), Maine State House, Augusta, Maine.[30]
• Bas relief panel: World War II and Korean War Memorial (1957), Loudon County Courthouse, Leesburg, Virginia.[31]
• John Paul Jones (bronze, 1957), William M. Reilly Memorial, Philadelphia Museum of Art Sculpture Garden, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[32]
• The Good Shepherd (Istrian stone, 1957), Bowker Memorial Fountain, All Saints Episcopal Church, Worcester, Massachusetts.[33]
  • In 1995, Hancock donated a bronze version to St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Rockport, Massachusetts, as a memorial to his wife.[34]
• Architectural sculpture: Three Angels with Palm Branches (limestone, 1959–60), Military Chapel, Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial, Saint-Avold, France. Carved by M. Juge.[4]^:42
• Vice President Alben W. Barkley (bronze, 1960–63), Kentucky State Capitol, Lexington.
• Paul Weeks Litchfield, (bronze, 1961), Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio.
• Confederate Memorial (granite, 1917–72), Stone Mountain, Georgia. Hancock supervised its completion, 1964-72.
• The Garden of Gethsemane (bronze, 1965–66), Trinity Church, Topsfield, Massachusetts.
  • A replica is at The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, Bardstown, Kentucky.[14]
  • A replica of Christ Praying is at the Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• Air (bronze, 1978–82), Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[35]
• Arion on a Dolphin (bronze, 1989), Dunn Tower, Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas.[36]
• Bust: W. E. B. DuBois (marble, 1993), Memorial Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.[37]

• General Douglas MacArthur (bronze, 1969), MacArthur Monument (West Point). A duplicate of this is at the MacArthur Memorial, Norfolk, Virginia.
• Bust: General Leslie R. Groves (bronze, 1975).[38]
• Flight Memorial (bronze, 1992).

• Christ the Good Shepherd Altarpiece (limestone, 1957), Good Shepherd Chapel.[39] Carved by Roger Morigi.
• Niche figure of Ulrich Zwingli (limestone, 1965).[40] Carved by Roger Morigi.
• Niche figure of Martin Luther (limestone, 1967).[41] Carved by Roger Morigi.
• Christ in Majesty (limestone, 1972), bas relief over the High Altar. Carved by Roger Morigi (with Frank Zic).[42]
• Statue of Abraham Lincoln (bronze, 1984), west end of the Nave.

• Bust: Stephen Foster (marble, 1951–52), James Madison Memorial Building.[43] Hancock designed the bust in the style of an antebellum sculptor such as Hiram Powers, and carved it in marble himself.[4]^:40
• James Madison (marble, 1974–76), James Madison Memorial Building.[44]

• Bust: Chief-Justice Earl Warren (marble, 1977).
• Bust: Chief-Justice Warren E. Burger (marble, 1983).
  • Bronze versions of this are at the National Portrait Gallery, the Minnesota State Capitol, the Swem Library at the College of William and Mary, and elsewhere.[4]^:75

• Bust: Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey, Jr. (marble, 1981–82).[45]
• Bust: Vice-President Gerald R. Ford (marble, 1984–85).[46]
  • Replicas at Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library, Austin, Texas; and elsewhere.[4]^:75
• Bust: Vice-President George H. W. Bush (marble, 1990–91).[47]

• 
  At upper right: The Bond of Postal Union pediment (1934), New Post Office Building (now part of the William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building), Washington, D.C.
• 
  Bas relief busts (1934–35), Liberty Memorial, Kansas City, Missouri.
• 
  River Traffic (1936), Kansas City City Hall, Missouri.
• 
  John Paul Jones (1957), Philadelphia Museum of Art Sculpture Garden, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 
  Paul Weeks Litchfield (1961), Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio.
• 
  Vice President Alben W. Barkley (1960–63), Kentucky State Capitol.
• 
  Confederate Memorial (1917–72), Stone Mountain, Georgia. Hancock supervised its completion, 1964-72.
• 
  Chief Justice Earl Warren (1977), U. S. Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C.
• 
  Chief Justice Warren E. Burger (1983), U. S. Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C.

• Walker Hancock, "Experiences of a Monuments Officer in Germany", College Art Journal, 5:4 (May 1946), College Art Association.
• Timothy Crouse & Louise Todd Ambler, The Sculpture of Walker Hancock, exhibition catalogue (Gloucester, MA: Cape Ann Historical Association, 1989): introduction, biographical essay, afterword, checklist of works, 1919-88.
• Walker Hancock, A Sculptor's Fortunes: A Memoir (Gloucester, MA: Cape Ann Historical Association, 1997).
• Susan James-Gadzinski & Mary Mullen Cunningham, "Walker Hancock, b. 1901", American Sculpture in the Museum of American Art of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA, 1997), pp. 279–85.