The World War I Memorials of Giuseppe Moretti

ABSTRACT No sooner had hostilities with Germany ceased in November 1918 than communities across America began to seek appropriate ways to honor the men and women who had contributed to the war effort. Towns and cities erected hundreds of precast monuments. However, many localities sought to hire skilled artists to create memorials unique to their own communities. It is fortuitous that Guiseppe Moretti had settled in Pittsburgh in 1916, where he enjoyed a regional reputation. He had been attracted to Pittsburgh as early as 1895 with his commission for a statue of Edward Bigelow, Director of Public Works, who later commissioned Moretti’s work in Schenley Park. Between 1919 and 1924 Moretti created a group of war memorials around the country that are unique in their execution and subject. His more complex iconography differentiates his military figures from many of other doughboy statuary, and the classically clothed female allegorical figures became a significant hallmark of his work.