Sabin Howard to speak in Nashville on heroism in public art

Sculptor Sabin Howard, who created the National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C., will speak at Nashville’s Belmont Mansion on Dec. 12 about why America stopped building heroic public monuments. The weekend includes a Dec. 11 screening of the documentary HEROIC and comes as Howard brings attention to classical sculpture and the role of public art.

Why it matters: - Sabin Howard’s visit puts a national debate over public art, monuments and heroism in front of a Nashville audience. - The event ties Howard’s World War I memorial work to a broader question about whether American public art should return to the heroic human figure. - The weekend also highlights Nashville’s arts and civic history through a program built around Belmont Mansion.

What happened: - Meriwether Academy announced that Sabin Howard will give a public talk, “The Return of the Hero,” at Belmont Mansion on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2026. - The talk comes on the eve of Veterans Day and is hosted by the Nashville educational nonprofit Meriwether Academy. - Beck & Stone Brand Consultancy is presenting the event. - The weekend opens Friday, Dec. 11, with a private screening of HEROIC, Traci L. Slatton’s documentary on the making of Howard’s memorial. - Howard and Slatton will speak after the screening.

The details: - Howard is the sculptor behind the National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. - His bronze relief, “A Soldier’s Journey,” measures 58 feet and weighs 25 tons. - The work includes 38 figures and honors more than 4 million Americans who served in World War I. - Howard spent nearly a decade creating the relief. - He sculpted the figures in clay from living models in period uniform before casting the bronze. - The memorial was unveiled in Pershing Park in September 2024. - The memorial honors the 116,000 Americans who died in the war. - The documentary HEROIC uses more than 4,000 hours of footage and follows Howard from the winning design to the finished bronze. - Belmont Mansion is an 1850s Italianate villa that once held one of the South’s notable collections of marble statuary. - Nashville has long been known as the “Athens of the South.” - Event details list a reception at 5:30 p.m. and talk and Q&A at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 12. - The venue is Belmont Mansion, 1700 Acklen Ave., Nashville, Tenn. - General admission tickets are $99. - A 14-seat VIP Weekend package costs $349 and includes the Friday screening, a private luncheon with Howard and priority seating. - Tickets are available at Meriwether Academy’s event page.

Between the lines: - Howard’s work stands out because he moved toward classical figuration at a time when much of American monument-making shifted toward abstraction. - The public response to the memorial has made Howard one of the leading voices for classical sculpture. - Warren Steury framed the event as part of a larger civic question about what public art should say about the people it honors. - The setting at Belmont Mansion reinforces the event’s argument that art can be civic, uplifting and explicitly figurative.

What's next: - Howard is available for Veterans Day interviews by phone or video this week. - Howard will also be available in person in Nashville on Dec. 11 and Dec. 12. - A limited number of complimentary press seats are available for Dec. 12, with requests due by Dec. 9. - Photos, biographies and fast facts are available in the Sabin Howard press room. - Howard is now working on the Grand Liberty Arch. - Meriwether Academy says it continues working toward founding a classical boys’ boarding school in Tennessee.

The bottom line: - Howard’s Nashville appearance turns a memorial for World War I into a live argument about whether America still wants heroic public art.