Anna Coleman Ladd: Sculpting Faces and Dignity for WWI Soldiers
Anna Coleman Ladd, a self-taught sculptor born in Pennsylvania in 1878, established the Studio for Portrait Masks in Paris during World War I. She created lifelike copper masks for soldiers disfigured by industrial warfare, restoring their appearance and dignity. Ladd's process involved making plaster casts, sculpting clay models, and hammering thin copper sheets painted with enamel to match skin tone, hair, and eyes. By the end of 1918, her team had produced over one hundred masks. Ladd was awarded the Légion d’Honneur by France. After the war, she returned to Massachusetts, creating memorials and fountains like Triton Babies (1922). Her work is considered an early precursor to anaplastology.
Key facts
- Anna Coleman Ladd was born in Pennsylvania in 1878.
- She was a self-taught sculptor.
- She established the Studio for Portrait Masks in Paris in 1917.
- The studio was located at 70 rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs.
- Ladd created copper masks for disfigured WWI soldiers.
- Her masks were painted with enamel and included real eyelashes and mustache hairs.
- By the end of 1918, Ladd and her team had created over one hundred masks.
- Ladd was awarded the Légion d’Honneur by France.
- She returned to Massachusetts in December 1918.
- She created the Triton Babies fountain in 1922.
Entities
Artists
- Anna Coleman Ladd
Institutions
- American Red Cross
- Children’s Bureau of the American Red Cross
- Library of Congress
- Archives of American Art
- Hoover Institution Library & Archives
- Paris Interuniversity Library of Health
- Paris Cité University
Locations
- Pennsylvania
- Boston
- London
- Toulouse
- Paris
- France
- Massachusetts
- Manchester
- Beverly Farms
- Versailles
- Washington, DC
- USA