Exhibit info

About the Exhibit: Facts, Figures & Frequently Asked Questions

 

“No matter what your feelings are about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there’s an exhibit…at Arlington National Cemetery that will definitely tug at your heart… It’s an extraordinary exhibit.”
- Matt Lauer, NBC, March 2005 introducing his coverage of the Exhibition Opening

 

Matt Lauer spoke those words on the Today Show on March 22, 2005, as Faces of the Fallen, America’s Artists Honor America’s Heroes, was opening to the public.   On June 10, 2007 the exhibit closed.  In the intervening 27 months, more than 650,000 people came to the Women In Military Service For America Memorial, at the gateway to Arlington National Cemetery, to see the exhibit.
 
As predicted, the portraits stirred the emotions of all who came.  Many visitors left behind cherished photographs and other memorabilia, turning the exhibit into a living memorial, bringing the families of the fallen and all Americans closer together in grief and gratitude.

In an extraordinary way, through the power of art and the generosity of over 200 American artists, Faces of the Fallen recognizes the profound sacrifice of 1,319 American service men and women and their families.  These were the first heroes to die in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.  The portraits continue the age old tradition of artists celebrating military heroes and they honor and reinforce the Renaissance ideal that art can and does transcend and heal.

Now, as the participating artists intended, almost all the portraits have “gone home” to the service members’ next–of-kin across America.   The final tasks of deinstallation, packing and shipping have been accomplished, expertly facilitated by the Department of Defense, the National Park Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs, UPS and The UPS Store – The Village at Shirlington, VA.  Generous financial contributions from the Lockheed Martin Foundation and Prudential as well as the support of individual donors and friends of Faces of the Fallen underwrote the costs of bringing the exhibit to a dignified and respectful close.

With the full cooperation of all branches of the U.S. Military Services, Faces of the Fallen worked diligently to verify addresses and reach out to the families whose loved ones were represented in the exhibition.  Despite best efforts, it was not possible to make contact with the next-of-kin of 300 gallant service men and women.

Thanks to the vision and generosity of General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, these 300 portraits are now on permanent exhibition in the Pentagon.  They have been installed outside the prestigious Hall of Heroes which is dedicated to recipients of the Medal of Honor, our nation's highest military decoration.  The exhibit, which replicates the design of the original installation, will be featured on the Pentagon's Public Tour Route.

Faces of the Fallen was conceived by Annette Polan, a prominent Washington, D. C. portrait artist and professor at the Corcoran College of Art and Design.  She was inspired by photographs of Iraq war casualties that appeared in the newspaper. More than 200 artists, ranging from professionals to students, joined the project.  Working from photographs, they created 6x8 inch portraits in a wide variety of media and styles.  The award-winning DC firm, CORE architecture+design conceived the design of the exhibit, with the portraits mounted on steel shafts of varying height rising from display platforms, and presented chronologically by date-of-death.  Individual nameplates identified each soldier.  The exhibit included those who died in Afghanistan and Iraq from October 10, 2001 to November 11, 2004.   
 
More than 2,500 people attended the opening of the exhibit--most of them family members of the service men and women in the portraits.  They came from 44 states and from as far away as India and Australia for the event, the largest such gathering of families who had lost loved ones in Iraq. 
  
Lengthy articles about the exhibit appeared in most of the nation’s major newspapers, including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and USA Today.  All of the network evening newscasts devoted a segment to Faces of the Fallen, as did CNN, PBS, and French and German television channels.  Wire services in Japan, Russia, Australia and France also have covered the exhibit.
  
The exhibit transcended the political divisions that have accompanied the war in Iraq.  Its nonpolitical nature is reflected in the bipartisan list of honorary co-chairs:  Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John McCain (R-AZ), John Warner (R-VA), John D. Dingell (D-MI), John M. McHugh (R-NY), and Brigadier General Wilma L. Vaught, USAF (Ret.).

Faces of the Fallen told several compelling stories:

  • Of the family members who have been deeply affected by this remembrance of their loved ones; and of their emotional connection to other grieving families through the exhibition
  • Of the service members who have recognized, mourned and paid tribute to their comrades in the ranks of the dead
  • Of founder Annette Polan and the personal genesis of the initiative
  • Of the contributing artists who put aside their personal politics to participate in this spontaneous cultural moment

Faces of the Fallen received several significant awards:

  • Faces of the Fallen received the 2006 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Outstanding Public Service Award for “extraordinary support of America’s service members and their families”
  • CORE architecture + design was awarded the 2005 Washington Architectural Foundation’s Pro Bono Publico award for Faces of the Fallen
  • The exhibit was named one of the Washington Post’s 2005 top five gallery exhibitions

Faces of the Fallen was a truly unique expression of honor and respect:

  • An original portrait exhibition of the first 1,319 American service men and women to be killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, the first American war casualties of the 21st century
  • A pro-bono collaboration of over 200 American artists
  • A mosaic of individual art styles in a variety of visual media
  • The individual and collected faces of an ongoing conflict
  • An interactive installation visited by hundreds of thousands of family members, fellow military and the general public
  • A focus for collective tribute and grief
  • A learning moment for all ages and many disciplines – art, portraiture, education, history, social science, biography

Faces of the Fallen was also uniquely:

  • Honored for its comfort to the bereaved families and for the effectiveness of its design: 
  • Appreciated for its own sake across a divided public
  • Profiled extensively in print, broadcast, and electronic media – locally, regionally, nationally, internationally
  • Chaired by a bipartisan panel of distinguished Members of Congress, and General Wilma L. Vaught
  • Partnered with pro-bono exhibition venue, the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at the Gateway to Arlington National Cemetery
  • Extended four times from March 23, 2005 through June 10, 2007 by popular request