The Spirit of the American Doughboys. #newbraunfels #texas
Viquesney’s statue shows a US infantryman charging through no-mans land in the First World War. In a pose reminiscent of the statue of liberty, he is holding a grenade as he moves forward. The Spirit of the American Doughboy is perhaps the most iconic of First World War statues in the United States. Viquesney sought to portray a soldier in combat—with rifle, bayonet affixed, and the ever-precious gas mask—showing as best he could the realities of war. Viquesney used not one model for his statue, but combined the features of some fifty veterans to create a composite soldier that represented all of America’s fighting men.
Viquesney came from a family of French lineage who had been stone carvers since the early 1800s at least. Born in 1876, Ernest Moore Viquesney, known as “Dick,” grew up in Spencer, Indiana, where he learned to carve stone. After serving in the Spanish-American War, Viquesney moved around the country, but spent the years between 1905 and 1922 in Americus, Georgia, before returning to Indiana. It was in Americus that he created Spirit of the American Doughboy.
Photography by @viva_del_santo
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