Monument to Democracy. Statue of Liberty in the Pacific. Design for Project at San Pedro, Port of Los Angeles.
Los AngelesL ca. 1954. Gouache painting. 21.5 x 23.5 inches. Signed in pencil by the artist. Annotated and authenticated by Tony Sheets, the artist’s son in 2003. On board.
From Adam Arenson: This statue seems the biggest unbuilt project in the Sheets oeuvre: the Monument to Democracy, a 1954 effort spearheaded by LA County Supervisor John Anson Ford to build the Pacific Ocean¹s ³Statue of Liberty² companion in San Pedro. "The erection, on the West Coast, of an
heroic statue to Democracy Šis a project combining considerations of statesmanship, education and art, of profound international significance,² Ford wrote. Echoing age-old themes with a new Cold War twist, Ford
declared, Intended to be 480 feet tall, on a drum base 46 feet hight, topped with a
bronze globe 125 feet in diameter, the Monument to Democracy was to have
three figures, each 250 feet tall, on top of historical and art museums revealing the progress of each of the world¹s races toward democracy.
Millard Sheets was listed as the project¹s designer, with the statue to be designed by his colleague, sculptor Albert Stewart. Item #03-0055
Price: $12,500.00