Artist: Gary Lee Price
Title: Mark Twain III
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: Please Select
"Mark Twain is first in a series of life size bronze sculptures celebrating 'Great Contributors' of literature, science, philosophy music and the arts. Throughout the ages there have always been those who have been willing to go beyond the norms and reach for that unknown and distant star. All mankind becomes the beneficiary of those leaps of faith and, oft times, we marvel and stand in awe at those ‘great ones’ and their contributions to humanity. Sir Isaac Newton said that his contributions were great because he was able to stand on the shoulders of his predecessors. I believe we all desire to help make the world a better place and role models help us raise our own sights and set loftier standards. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, 'What lies behind us, and what lies before us, are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.' I hope that as we sit down next to these leaders and get to know them we will come to appreciate even more their role as contributors and realize that they also were real human beings and yet extraordinary, just as each one of us is. Who is to say what contributions we will make!" Gary Lee Price
Part of Price's Great Contributor series, this is a bronze sculpture of Mark Twain seated on a park bench. Twain is dressed in a suit with a bow tie and has a distinctively textured hairstyle. The realistic portrayal captures fine details such as the creases in the suit and the relaxed posture of the figure with one leg crossed over the other. The bent arm resting on the thigh and the hand holding a book contribute to the sense of casual poise. The integration of the bench into the sculpture is an invitation for interaction, to sit alongside the figure.