Saint Francis de la Varenne, (sculpture).

Saint Francis de la Varenne, (sculpture).

Bufano, Beniamino, 1898-1970, sculptor.

Saint Francis de la Varenne, (sculpture).

1926-1928. Relocated 1962. Dedicated 1963.

Digital Reference:

Figure: carved granite; Base: concrete.

Figure: approx. 15 x 10 x 2 1/2 ft.; Base: approx. 2 ft. x 4 ft. 9 in. x 3 ft. 7 in. (20 tons).

A stylized figure of St. Francis of Assisi, dressed in a hooded Franciscan habit, stands barefoot with his arms extended out to his sides. The figure stands atop a small base surrounded by a small pool.

Religion -- Saint -- St. Francis

Outdoor Sculpture -- California -- San Francisco

Coadministered by San Francisco Bay Area Longshoreman's Memorial Association, 400 Northpoint, San Francisco, California 94133

Coadministered by Warehousemen's Union, 400 Northpoint, San Francisco, California 94133

Located International Longshoreman's and Warehousemen's Union Hall, Corner of Taylor & Beach Streets, San Francisco, California

Formerly located Church of St. Francis, San Francisco, California 1955-1961.

The figure was carved in Paris, where it stayed in a warehouse for 27 years. Friends of the sculptor transported it to San Francisco in 1955, where it was placed at the Church of St. Francis in North Beach, San Francisco. It was moved to Oakland six years later after much controversy about its placement at the church. It was moved to its present location in 1962 when the San Francisco Bay Area Longshoremen's Memorial Association proposed a permanent location with a park and fountain to surround it on the grounds close to its building near Fisherman's Wharf. IAS files contain a related excerpt from Randolph Falk's "Bufano," Millbrae, CA: Celestial Arts, 1975, pg. 61, 135.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, California, San Francisco survey, 1994.

Falk, Randolph, "Bufano," Millbrae, CA: Celestial Arts, pg. 135.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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