Unconditional Surrender (sculpture)

Unconditional Surrender is a series of sculptures by Seward Johnson resembling a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt, V–J day in Times Square, but said by Johnson to be based on a similar, less well known, photograph by Victor Jorgensen. The original statue was first installed in Sarasota, Florida, then was moved to San Diego, California and New York City. Other versions have been installed in Hamilton, New Jersey; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and Normandy, France.

Seward Johnson first built a life-size bronze precursor to the huge statues of Unconditional Surrender using computer technology. A 25-foot (7.6 m)-tall styrofoam version of the work was part of a temporary exhibition in Sarasota, Florida in 2005, at its bay front.

Johnson proceeded with the manufacture of aluminum versions of the 25-feet-tall statue, marketing them through a foundation he had created. He offered copies ranging from $542,500 for styrofoam, $980,000 for aluminum, and $1,140,000 for bronze. Johnson established the Sculpture Foundation to disseminate his work.

After being exhibited in Florida, the statue was moved to San Diego, California, on a flatbed truck. The second place to exhibit Unconditional Surrender was in Tuna Harbor Park (formerly G Street Mole Park) where the Port of San Diego installed one temporarily in 2007. The statue, made of a foam core with a urethane outer layer, was scheduled to be on loan through August 2010; however, it remained installed until May 2012, when it was dismantled and shipped to New Jersey for restoration.

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