Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s Shaw Memorial

By Susan Davidson

National Gallery of Art, West Building

6th Street, NW & Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20565
Phone: 202.737.4215

Nearby Metro Stops:

Judiciary Square
Archives-Navy Memorial

Wheelchair Accessible:

Yes

Kid Friendly:

Yes

Sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s massive bronze bas-relief known as the Shaw Memorial is back on permanent view after its gallery was closed. Its size (about 13 by 17 feet) and subject make it one of the museum’s most moving—yet often overlooked—treasures. Shaw, who came from a wealthy, white, abolitionist family, headed an Infantry Regiment of African-Americans in Charleston, South Carolina. Killed in battle against the Confederates, Shaw—for whom the DC neighborhood is named—was buried in a mass grave with many of his men.