''Fortitude'' (also known as ''Lady Fortitude'') is a public artwork by the American artist James King, located in Fortitude Plaza at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. ''Fortitude'' was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! survey in 1993.

Description

The sculpture depicts a figure of a woman cut from a thin piece of metal. She "wears" a sleeveless dress, high heels and has short, straight hair. She is walking; with her proper left arm swinging above her head and her proper right arm back behind her.

Artist

Born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, sculptor James King received education from the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

, the

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...

and the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

Information

The sculpture was unveiled on April 28, 1979, at 3:15pm by members of

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emp ...

, to honor the founders of the service sorority. The sculpture is described as symbolizing "the attributes of strength, courage, hope, wisdom, beauty and femininity as depicted by the 22 founders of Delta Sigma Theta". In 1986, the sorority gifted small versions of ''Fortitude'' to

Winnie Mandela Winnie Nomzamo Madikizela-Mandela (born Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela; 26 September 1936 – 2 April 2018), also known as Winnie Mandela, was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist, second wife of Nelson Mandela. During ...

, Leah Tutu and Dorothy Boesak. On July 11, 2013, the sorority dedicated Fortitude Plaza, surrounding the sculpture, as a gift to

. The Plaza was designed by four female architectural students at Howard University. The design was based on the original landscape work of

David Williston David A. Williston (1868–1962) was the first professionally trained African American landscape architect in the United States. He designed many campuses for historically black colleges and universities, including Tuskegee University. He also tau ...

, who designed the space in 1932.

Condition

This sculpture was surveyed in 1993 for its condition and was described, as "well maintained".

References

{{Public art in Washington, D.C., state=collapsed Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. Outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C. Delta Sigma Theta Howard University Artworks at Howard University 1979 sculptures Steel sculptures in Washington, D.C.