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The statue was added to Coe Circle in 1925. It was one of four statues given by Dr. Henry Waldo Coe to the City of Portland. It was made from the original molds of Frémiet's statue, which Coe saw on a visit to France. Portland's statue arrived from France in 1924 and was dedicated on, May 30, 1925, honoring the Doughboys of World War I. Dr. Coe chose to gift a statue of Joan of Arc because she was the patron saint of the Doughboys while they fought in Europe during World War I. It is reported that the Doughboys would even sing Joan of Arc, They Are Calling You as they marched into battle. Dr. Coe is even quoted saying that the singing of this song, “...had much to do in reviving the drooping spirits of the French and bringing victory out of defeat”. At the unveiling ceremony the Royal Rosarian quartet sang that very tune.

The tax conservation commission did not allow for the cost of the granite base that the statue sits upon to be paid for by the city of Portland so, both Dr. Coe’s Wife and mother paid for the $4000 granite base. To choose the design for the base the city art commission and the Portland chapter of architects held a contest. Margaret Goodin Fritsch, the first women to graduate from the School of Architecture at University of Oregon, won first place and her design was chosen. The granite base itself was made by Blaesing Granite works.

Over the years the gold leaf that brilliantly dawned the statue slowly deteriorated until there was no trace of it’s luster. However, in 2002, through the fundraising efforts and after receiving a grant for $24,000, the city of Portland was able to have the statue restored to it’s former glory. The pennant flag held in Joan’s right hand and the laurel wreath on her head were replaced and the gold leaf was restored.

Images of Joan of Arc in America
There are no known representations of Joan of Arc in America until after the Revolutionary war. In 1797, Philip Freneau publishes a poem in The Time-Piece newspaper, that we see a reference made to Joan of Arc. Freneau praises Deborah Gannett, a woman who dressed as a man and used her brother’s name to enlist on the side of the Patriots in the Revolutionary War. In his poem he praises Gannett for being inspired, like Joan of Arc, to fight against the British. Shortly after the publication of Freneau’s poem, John Daly Burk wrote a play titled, Female Patriotism; or, The Death of Joan of Arc, that opened in New York in 1798. The Joan of Arc represented in Burk’s play embodies the ideals of freedom and equality for all. Joan of Arc is re-imagined by the American people as one who fights for democracy and freedom. A tradition of renaming American women after Joan of Arc began around the time of the Civil War and continued well into the twentieth century. Such women were Harriet Tubman, who was deemed “The African Joan” and Anna Dickinson, called the “American’s Joan of Arc”.

When World War I broke out in 1914, America was ill-equipped, and it did not go unnoticed. In January 1915, the New York Times calls the United States a “great, helpless, unprepared nation”. [27] During this time war propaganda capitalized on the cultural revival of medievalism happening in the States and the anti-modernist attitude of the time. With the rise of the mass-produced image at the same time, images of Joan began to pop up everywhere. With Joan of Arc already established as a defender of the democracy and a heroin of the people in America, it was not difficult to reestablish her as a cultural icon. Joan of Arc showed up in films, children books and even songs. The New York Herald-Tribune even made light of the America’s fascination with the remark, “It was an outstanding fact of our campaign in the Great War that Joan of Arc was almost as much a heroine of the Doughboys as the Poilu”.

Cobler Rose (talk) 03:32, 10 May 2020 (UTC)Cobler Rose