Sculptor Hopes to Revive the Spirit of the Renaissance in America

Sabin Howard’s latest work, the National World War I Memorial, is unveiled in Washington. He wants to create art that can inspire a connection to the divine.

Sculptor Sabin Howard sits with the maquette he created for "A Soldier's Journey," the sculptural component of the National World War I Memorial that was unveiled in Washington on Sept. 13, 2024. Courtesy of Sabin Howard

Stretching across 58 feet in Washington, D.C.’s Pershing Park is a bronze frieze that portrays “A Soldier’s Journey” through the demands and dangers of World War I. From left to right, 38 life-size human figures relate the experience of a single American soldier: his departure from home, the ordeal of battle and its aftermath, and his return.

The massive work, unveiled in an illumination ceremony on September 13, was created by Italian American sculptor Sabin Howard, whose lifelong quest is to revive figurative sculpture in the great tradition of the Renaissance. The fact that he has made his case in a large-scale piece commemorating World War I is something Howard finds deeply ironic.