Edmond Amateis
A limestone male (right) and female (left) griffin guard the outside entrance of the Acacia Building in Washington, D.C. The griffins each hold an agate egg between their paws, symbolic of the protection of their home. Like the building they were designed in the Neoclassical. The sculptures were carved by Ugo Lavaggi.
A larger version of this image is available here.
Portraying "efficiency," Paul Bunyan, heroic figure of the north-woods, is pictured in this sculpture designed by Edmond Amateis for one of three sections of an American folk-lore group to adorn in relief the facade of the Medicine & Public Health Building facing the Thomas Plaza at the New York World's Fair 1939. With him is shown his favorite ox, Blue Babe, and Shanty John, a woodman friend. According to legend, Bunyan hitched Babe to a crooked, eight-mile road and stretched it out to twenty-two miles. He would skin a tree by holding the bark while Babe pulled the trunk out, the stories relate. His two-edged axe, which cut down an extra tree on the back stroke, is also shown.
Image from New York Public Library.
Portraying "humility," Strap Buckner, Old Three Hundred colonist of Texas, and man of near-legendary stength is pictured in this sculpture. According to legend, Strap Buckner challenged the Devil to a contest when pride got the better of him.
Image from New York Public Library.
Portraying "benevolence" is John Chapman, better known as "Johnny Appleseed." Chapman is credited with introducing apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, as well as the northern counties of West Virginia. He became a living legend due to his kindness, generosity, and leadership in conservation.
Image from New York Public Library.
Amateis created this massive bas-relief for the memorial on the American Cemetery at Draguignan. It has the inscription WE WHO LIE HERE DIED THAT FUTURE GENERATIONS MIGHT LIVE IN PEACE.
Uncropped image available here.
Jonas Salk built his career on developing vaccines against influenza and polio. In the 1940s he helped revolutionize immunology by developing vaccines that did not expose recipients to the disease itself. In 1947, as America confronted a polio epidemic, Salk turned to finding a vaccine for the disease, reporting successful results by 1953; by 1955 the Salk vaccine was in widespread use and dramatically diminished the impact of polio, especially among children. Salk never claimed a patent for the vaccine, asking "Could you patent the sun?"
Amateis was commissioned to create busts of scientists who had participated in the development of the Polio vaccine. Their busts are located at the Polio Wall of Fame, Georgia Warm Springs Foundation.
Original image available at the National Portrait Gallery here.