Forms of Remembrance: The Unknown Political Prisoner

This exhibition examines the history and legacy of Christian Petersen’s monuments to the fallen, centering on his Unknown Political Prisoner maquette and related drawings and sculptures. Petersen’s entry was submitted to the 1952 international competition organized by the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, which sought to promote abstract sculpture as a symbol of democratic values and to commemorate those who had been imprisoned or killed in the struggle for human freedom. Though Petersen was not a pacifist—firmly supporting the American war efforts in both World War I and World War II—his later work reveals a profound shift. Influenced by an increasing spiritual awareness, he turned from patriotic celebration to the somber realities of war, emphasizing loss, mourning, and the enduring grief of those left behind. In the postwar years, Petersen developed numerous proposals for war memorials that honored gave form to collective remembrance, though none were realized in his lifetime.