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French mutilé  fitted with a mask by Mrs. Anna Coleman Ladd, of the American Red Cross, thus making him able to appear in public unnoticed

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French mutilé fitted with a mask by Mrs. Anna Coleman Ladd, of the American Red Cross, thus making him able to appear in public unnoticed

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Summary


No. 8352.
Written on mount: Print made for Look magazine 11-4-37.
Forms part of the American Red Cross Collection (Library of Congress)

Anna Coleman Ladd (1878-1939) was an American sculptor who devoted her time and skills throughout World War I to designing prosthetics for soldiers who were disfigured from injuries received in combat. Ladd was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and educated in Europe, where she studied sculpture in Paris and Rome. She studied sculpture at the Boston Museum School. Her Triton Babies piece made for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco is now a fountain sculpture in the Boston Public Garden. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Ladd volunteered to work with the American Red Cross. She was sent to Paris, where she set up a studio to create prosthetic masks for soldiers who had been disfigured in combat. Ladd's masks were made of thin sheets of galvanized copper that she painted to match the soldiers' skin tones. She also used real hair to create eyebrows, eyelashes, and mustaches. Ladd's masks were not only functional, but they also helped to restore the soldiers' sense of self-confidence and dignity. Ladd worked with the Red Cross until the end of the war. After the war, she returned to the United States and continued to create prosthetic masks for veterans. She also lectured on her work and wrote a book about her experiences, titled "The Face of War." Ladd died in 1939 at the age of 60. Anna Coleman Ladd was a remarkable woman who made a significant contribution to the lives of soldiers who were disfigured in World War I. Her work helped to restore these soldiers' sense of self-confidence and dignity, and it is a testament to her compassion and artistry.

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01/01/1918
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Library of Congress
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