Compassion

Compassion. .

Artist Una Hanbury with Colin Poole , Title, Date Compassion, originally completed in 1969, recreated in 2023 , Materials Bronze

, Info , In 1969, a symbol of strength, protection, and the willingness to aid our fellow citizens emerged in the form of the Compassion sculpture. With the support of the Arlington Jaycees, sculptor Una Hanbury (b. 1904 Middlesex, England, d. 1990) crafted theo riginal version of this statue, molding it with clay and casting it in concrete. It proudly graced a mini-park at the intersection of Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards at Courthouse Road for decades and served as a testament to the values of Arlington County., Over the course of 55 years, time and weather took their toll, eroding the surface and rendering the sculpture unrecognizable. Cracks marred its form, jeopardizing its very structure. Acknowledging the need for restoration, Arlington County, Greystar Real Estate Partners, and the family of Una Hanbury worked together to determine how the sculpture could be saved. Due to the condition of the original sculpture, recreating it was deemed to be the best option to preserve it., Una Hanbury's grandson, Colin Poole, a professional artist who apprenticed under Hanbury, absorbed her working methods which prepared him for the task of recreating Compassion according to its original likeness. Poole digitally scanned the weathered concrete sculpture and milled a replica in foam which was then enveloped in clay. Poole drew upon Hanbury's original bronze maquette and photo of the freshly cast sculpture to recreate missing details. Using Hanbury's own sculpting tools and referencing other sculptures she had crafted during that era, Poole skilfully reproduced the surface texts and the renewed form was cast in bronze for longevity.