History

Displaying the movement and sensitive attention to naturalistic physicality that are hallmarks of Hellenistic sculpture, an invisible wind whips the winged goddess’s delicate clothing against the soft curves of her body in rippling folds, mimicking the waves that would crash against the prow of the stone ship she alights on if it were at sea. Demonstrating the lasting influence of the sculpture’s drama and energy is its regular representation in pop culture, including Abel Lafleur’s 1930 design for the first FIFA World Cup Trophy; as a symbol deployed against Nazism in mid-20th century poetry and fiction; Banksy’s 2006 CCTV Angel, which comments on the overreach of surveillance in society; and The Carters’ (Beyoncé and Jay-Z) 2018 music video, APESHIT.

Between 1905 and 1906, during the middle of his acquisition period, Battle purchased the four-piece cast of the Victory of Samothrace. The lower body, torso, and wings are separate pieces fitted together by nodules and sockets. Battle’s Victory does not include the ship’s prow, thus divorcing it from the naval context of the original. Further differing from the original is the cast’s color: traces of Egyptian blue have been found on the original’s wings, but the cast adheres to historical collecting practices that favored an all-white finish.

At UT, the cast Victory of Samothrace enjoyed only a brief period of public viewership. Originally displayed in the Main Building, it does not appear in photos of the 1936 University Centennial Exposition nor in plans for the Main Building reconstruction, indicating that it was likely already in storage. Before 1977, and while stored at the Pickle Research Campus, the Victory’s fragile wings were damaged when a security guard mistakenly walked on them while searching for a light switch. After two and a half months of conservation, it was determined that the wings were too damaged to restore and the remaining pieces were returned to long-term storage. Today, they are stored at the Blanton Museum of Art.