The Mountaineer, (sculpture).

The Mountaineer, (sculpture).

De Lue, Donald, 1897-1988, sculptor.

Aurori, Fred, caster.

Sheidow Bronze Corporation, founder.

The Mountaineer, (sculpture).

March 1967-1971.; Cast 1971.; Dedicated Oct. 30, 1971.

Bronze on Salzburg sandstone base.

Sculpture: approx. 97 x 35 x 18 in.; Base: approx. 38 x 62 x 36 in. (1,200 lbs.).

D. DELUE/SHEIDOW BRONZE CORP. signed Founder's mark appears.

A standing male allegorical figure representing the spirit of the men who established the frontier and settled the state of West Virginia. The bronze statue of a mountaineer wears 'buckskins' with fringe along the arms, down the sides of the legs, and at the hem of the thigh-length shirt. He is posed in a heroic stance with feet spaced wide and standing atop a geometric outcropping of rock. His face is handsome and angular with high cheekbones, aqualine nose and prominent chin and jaw. His head is turned fully to his proper right shoulder and his hair and the fringe on his clothing are depicted as if blowing in a stiff wind.

His hands are oversized and powerful. He holds a long barreled flintlock rifle in his proper right hand, resting it against his proper right upper thigh. The barrel of the gun points down and across in front of his legs. His proper left hand holds a 'coon skin' cap against the thigh and knee of his proper left leg. On his waist at the proper left side is a large bladed knife in a sheath and at the proper right side is a powderhorn attached to a cord which hangs around his neck. His clothing is depicted as if the wind were blowing it tight against him, revealing his powerful and muscular body.

His moccasin-clad feet curve over the stylized rock outcroppings on which he stands. The base of the sculpture is a roughly shaped boulder.

Allegory -- Other -- Exploration

Allegory -- Other -- Progress

History -- United States -- Westward Expansion

History -- United States -- West Virginia

Dress -- Historic -- Pioneer Dress

Figure male -- Full length

Object -- Weapon -- Gun

Outdoor Sculpture -- West Virginia -- Morgantown

West Virginia University, West Virginia University Collections, Colson Hall, University Avenue, West Virginia Mountain Lair, student union, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505

IAS files contain related articles from Morgantown Post (Morgantown, WV), Feb. 14, 1968; Morgantown Post (Morgantown, WV), Oct. 29, 1971; Daily Athenaeum (Morgantown, WV), Sept. 21, 1967; Daily Athenaeum (Morgantown, WV), Feb. 15, 1968; and Daily Athenaeum (Morgantown, WV), Oct. 26, 1971. Articles discuss the controversy surrounding the commissioning of the sculpture by Mountain, a men's honorary group at West Virginia University. The idea for the sculpture originated with Governor Arch Moore in 1949.

The first model for the sculpture was submitted in 1953 by Baltimore sculptor Rachel Hawkes, but was rejected. Donald Harcourt De Lue began working on the project in March 1967. Fred Aurori, an employee of Sheidow Bronze Corporation, cast the piece from original model. The base of the sculpture was donated by Jack Boyle and Brooks Smith of Sandy Creek Fuel Company, Kingwood, WV.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, West Virginia survey, 1992.

Morgantown Post (Morgantown, WV), Feb. 14, 1968.

Morgantown Post (Morgantown, WV), Oct. 29, 1971.

Charleston Gazette (Charleston, WV), Nov. 7, 1971, pg. 4A.

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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