The Maine Lobsterman, (sculpture).

The Maine Lobsterman, (sculpture).

Kahill, Victor, 1895-1965, sculptor.

Therrien, Norman, 1935- , caster.

Altenburg, William, landscape architect.

Environmental Planning and Design Associates, landscape architect.

James Madison Cutts, engineering firm.

Skinker & Garrett, contractor.

Fletcher Granite Company, fabricator.

The Maine Lobsterman, (sculpture).

Modeled 1939. Installed ca. 1981. Dedicated June 15, 1983.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: Jonesboro pink granite boulder surrounded by Crotch Island speckled granite blocks.

Sculpture: approx. 5 x 2 x 3 1/2 ft.; Boulder: approx. H. 4 ft.; Flat stone block base: approx. W. 4 1/2 ft. D. 8 ft.

(Foundry mark is a circle with a plus sign inside)(Right side of rectangular base:) (copyright symbol) VICTOR KAHILL SC 1939 (Plaque installed in the stone block base, rear of sculpture:) THE MAINE LOBSTERMAN./PLACED HERE BY/THE STATE OF MAINE/CAMP FIRE - CUNDYS HARBOR/AND THEIR MANY FRIENDS. signed Founder's mark appears.

Male figure dressed in a shirt with the sleeves rolled up and pants tucked into his knee-length boots. He kneels before a lobster. He is holding onto the lobster and plugging its claw, a procedure known as pegging the lobster. On the ground behind the man is a coiled rope and a cap with a visor. The bronze figure and its rectangular bronze base rest on top of a large boulder which is set in the middle of an area paved with stone blocks.

Figure male -- Full length

Occupation -- Industry -- Fishing

Animal -- Fish -- Lobster

Outdoor Sculpture -- District of Columbia -- Washington

Administered by United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, District of Columbia

Located Water Street & 6th Street, S.W., Washington, District of Columbia

The plaster model of this sculpture was created for the Maine exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The man who posed for the figure of the lobsterman was an actual lobsterman, H. Elroy Johnson of Harpswell, Maine. Not enough money was raised to cast the piece in time for the NY World's Fair, so the artist covered the plaster with bronze paint. After the fair closed, the plaster model went back to Maine and resided at Portland's city hall until it was badly damaged by vandals. The family then gave it to the Maine State Museum. It was restored and in 1958 it was moved to Maine's Dept. of Sea and Shore Fisheries' Marine Museum and Aquarium at Boothbay Harbor. Later it was moved to a warehouse at the state marine laboratory where it fell victim to dampness and rodents.

In 1962 and again in 1967, several Maine congressmen tried and failed to pass a resolution to have the piece cast in bronze and placed in Washington, D.C. on Maine Avenue. Finally in 1973, following the death of the statue's model, H. Elroy Johnson, a Maine congressman succeeded in having three bronze casts made, one of which came to Washington, DC. All three casts were made by Norman Therrien of Boothbay, Maine. The casting was monitored and documented by a conservator from the Maine State Museum which still owns the plaster. The piece was authorized by Congress on September 4, 1980 and was given to Washington by the Campfire Girls of Cundy Harbor, Maine to celebrate the International Year of the Child.

IAS files contain a related article from The Washington Post, June 11, 1967, and an excerpt from The Harpswellian (Harpswell, Maine) which describe how the plaster model came to be created. The Washington Post article includes a photograph of the individual who served as the model for the figure of the lobsterman, H. Elroy Johnson. IAS files also contain a transcription of a Washington Post article from Feb. 5, 1981, which notes that the Washington bronze was brought to Washington by the Campfire Girls of Cundy's Harbor, Maine. The SOS! survey includes a transcription of the foundry mark.

IAS files contain an excerpt from Jannelle Warren-Findley's Aug. 1, 1985 report for the National Park Service entitled, "A Guide to Selected Statue, Monuments and Memorials," National Capital Parks - Central National Park Service, Washington, D.C., (RFQ 3-4-1919) which includes a brief list of bibliographic sources, and notes to additional information found in National Park Service files. This park service report refers to the artist as Victor McHill, but all other materials note the artist is Victor Kahill. Fletcher Granite Company was responsible for the stone work.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1993.

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

Control Number:

Horizon Information Portal 3.0

Powered by SirsiDynix

About | © 2020 Smithsonian | Terms of Use | Privacy | Contact

SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System