The Golden Age of Joan (1898-1920)

Joan of Arc is more than just a person. She is an icon whose influence has reached beyond 15th-century France to become a symbol across time and space.

In the United States, she has been a symbol of different themes ever since the beginning of the republic. Joan of Arc has been depicted in a number of ways in a range of sources, including movies, novels, and statues. These themes range from being a feminist icon and a symbol of the French to being a Catholic saint and a beacon of liberty.

These depictions of Joan of Arc are largely sourced from a book written by Dr. Laura Coyle, Curator of European Art at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. This book, A Universal Patriot: Joan of Arc in America During the Gilded Age and the Great War, goes over Joan of Arc's inclusion in the American cultural canon, mostly from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.

Cultural depictions of Joan suggest five distinct categories of how she has been displayed: as a pop culture icon, a French heroine, a feminist symbol, a beacon of liberty, and a Catholic saint.