Ruth Anne Dodge Memorial, Bronze memorial statue in Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States.
The Ruth Anne Dodge Memorial is a 8.5-foot (2.6 m) cast bronze angel holding a water basin, wreathed in laurel, set on a pink marble pedestal carved as a ship's prow with a garland swag. The pedestal, platform and reflecting pool were designed by New York architect Henry Bacon. It stands along the edge of Fairview Cemetery in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The Ruth Anne Dodge Memorial was commissioned by Dodge's daughters, Anne Dodge and Ella Dodge Pusey, as a tribute to their mother, who died of cancer. It was listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and became a contributing property to the Lincoln-Fairview Historic District in 2007.
The angel and basin reproduce a dream Ruth Anne Dodge had three times while dying of cancer: an angel urged her to drink, and after the third dream she drank and died soon after. Her daughters Anne Dodge and Ella Dodge Pusey commissioned the work from that account. Visitors still leave offerings at the base.
The memorial sits at a public intersection in Council Bluffs and is easily accessible during daylight hours. Visitors should explore the site during the day to fully appreciate the sculptural details and marble work.
The angel's pedestal is carved as a ship's prow, a nod to Grenville M. Dodge's railroad career; the pink marble base, platform and reflecting pool were designed by New York architect Henry Bacon. The sculpture is the only work in Iowa by Daniel Chester French, who later carved the Lincoln Memorial statue.
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