Victor Davis Hanson: Modern ‘Art’ Is Separating Man from Meaning feat. Sculptor Sabin Howard
September 9, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readSabin Howard spent 35 years working from live models in his studio, refining a classical sculptural tradition that most art schools no longer teach. Then he spent nine and a half years building the National World War I Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C., a project that required him to transform his entire approach—from static, idealized figures to a kinetic, dramatic narrative that could speak to millions of visitors. The memorial was unveiled in September 2024, and Howard reports that the public has "resoundingly given it a five star review." Now he is embarking on something far more ambitious: the Grand Liberty Arch, a 56-figure bronze monument that would be the largest bronze sculpture in the United States.
The Lost Art of Translating the Human Figure
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What you'll learn
- 1 Victor Davis Hanson: Modern ‘Art’ Is Separating Man from Meaning feat. Sculptor Sabin Howard
- 2 (01:30) **Sabin Howard's Background and the World War I Memorial** - Howard describes completing the National World War I Memorial on the National Mall after 9.5 years of work, with the public giving it a five-star reception
- 3 (07:56) **The Spiritual War in Art** - Howard argues that representational sculpture is inherently spiritual because it depicts humans made in God's image, making modernist abstraction an attack on sacred values
- 4 (12:01) **Idealization vs. Realism in Sculpture** - Howard explains his connection to Hellenistic art and why he chose to portray the anguish of real veterans rather than idealized forms
- 5 (16:48) **Kinship with Ancient Sculptors** - Howard describes a revelatory experience seeing the Riace bronzes and feeling brotherhood with ancient sculptors who used the same tools and methods
- 6 (18:41) **The Grand Liberty Arch Project** - Howard unveils his new project: 56 bronze figures telling American history, with figures on the arch at 12-foot scale — doubling the World War I memorial and making it the largest bronze sculpture in the United States
- 7 (21:17) **Why Scale Matters** - Howard argues that if Michelangelo could do the Sistine Chapel, Medici Tomb, and St. Peter's, there is no reason today's artists cannot work at that scale
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Show Notes
Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel at 33 years old. Raphael painted the Stanze di Raffaello when he was in his twenties. Where has this love for art gone?
In this special episode of Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words, Hanson sits down with American classical figurative sculptor Sabin Howard to discuss the rise of modern art and Howard’s personal mission to commemorate American history through his bronze sculptures.
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