'Embracing Peace'

This imposing 25-foot-tall statue is one of a number by the artist Seward Johnson. Originally displayed in Florida under the name Unconditional Surrender, it is now called Embracing Peace, a name that has been in use since around 2015.

The statue depicts a kiss between a sailor (George Mendosa) and a dental assistant (Grete Zimmer Friedman) on the declaration of the end of the war with Japan in 1945. It’s based on photographic images, taken in Times Square and published at the time. There is some controversy over whether the sculpture is based on a photograph by Alfred Eisensteit or Victor Jorgensen. The sculpture has become controversial because Greta Zimmer Friedman has stated that the kiss was not consensual.

A version of this statue was installed next to the port at Civitavecchia, Italy, in 2012. When it was proposed that it be permanently removed in 2013, it is said to have sparked massive protests in the city.

A somewhat smaller, and considerably less controversial, “kissing” statue was installed at Civitavecchia Port (in the public promenade surrounding Fort Michelangelo) in 2020. It is a 10-foot-tall bronze statue depicting a woman dressed in 1940s clothing being kissed by a sailor dressed in the wartime uniform of the Port Authority. Unlike the larger statue, the pose indicates a consensual kiss. The title of this statue is Kissing in Memory of a Port and was created by the Marinelli Foundry under the direction of Ivana Puleo. It was funded by a combination of private and corporate donors. It is said to have been installed both as a memorial to those who left the port in World War II, often never to return, and in memory of the historic Port Authority buildings which were destroyed by bombing during the war.