Serenity (Clara)

Description

The sculpture depicts an allegorical woman in long, flowing classical robes tied at her waist, with long hair and an intense forward gaze. She sits on a rocky ledge, arms resting casually behind her, and her left foot once rested on a broken sword. The Carrara marble figure is 6 ft tall and 5 ft wide, set on a granite base 1 ft tall and 8 ft wide. The piece is signed on the proper left side "Jose Clara" and the front of the base bears an inscription dedicating it to William Henry Schuetze, though his name is misspelled. Due to vandalism, the sculpture is missing its nose and one hand. It stands along a walkway in the northwest part of Meridian Hill Park, partially obscured by trees.

History

Charles Deering, an American businessman and art collector, built a house in Sitges, Spain, in 1917, where works by his friend, sculptor Josep Clarà, were displayed. In 1915, Deering asked Clarà to make a sculpture for the house, but the piece, called Serenity, was not finished until 1921, and by then no room was left for it. Deering dedicated the sculpture to his old friend, Lieutenant Commander William Henry Schuetze, who died in Washington, D.C., in 1902.

The two had been roommates at the United States Naval Academy, where Schuetze finished first in his class in 1873. His naval service included recovering bodies from the Jeannette expedition, serving in the White Squadron, and navigating the USS Iowa during the Spanish–American War. Deering gave the sculpture to the United States for placement on public land in Washington, D.C. Congress accepted it on March 12, 1924, and told the Army Corps of Engineers to pick a site.

The foundation was laid in March 1925, the base was put in place three months later, and the work finished in July 1925, costing $4,500 paid by Deering. It is one of the few outdoor statues in Washington, D.C., that never had a dedication ceremony. A very similar sculpture, Serenitat, made by Clarà in 1929, stands in the Miramar Gardens in Barcelona.