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  •  
    		• Pelzer, Alfonso,
     
  •  
    		• Quigley, Charles D.,
     
  •  
    		• W. H. Mullins Company,
     
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    		• Figure male -- Full length
     
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    		• Occupation -- Industry
     
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    		• Dress -- Accessory
     
  •  
    		• Object -- Tool
     
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    		• Portrait male -- Straughn, John William
     
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    		• Outdoor Sculpture -- Colorado -- Denver
     
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    		• Architectural component
     
  •  
    		• Sculpture
     
     
    The Old Prospector, (sculpture).
    Artist: 
    Pelzer, Alfonso, d. 1904, sculptor.
    Quigley, Charles D., sculptor.
    W. H. Mullins Company, founder.
    Title: 
    The Old Prospector, (sculpture).
    Other Titles: 
    Old Miner, (sculpture).
    Prospector, (sculpture).
    Dates: 
    Dedicated Oct. 22, 1891. Relocated 1963. Rededicated 1982.
    Digital Reference: 
    Image Image Image
    Medium: 
    Sculpture: copper sheeting, partially gilded; Base: concrete.
    Dimensions: 
    Sculpture: approx. 12 x 4 x 4 ft.; Base: approx. 15 in. x 6 ft. x 12 ft. (490 lbs.).
    Description: 
    A figure of a bearded gold miner, dressed in a work shirt with sleeves rolled up, work pants, a hat, and knee-length high boots. He holds a gold-painted rock in his extended proper left hand; and rests on a pick axe held in his proper right hand.
    Subject: 
    Figure male -- Full length
    Occupation -- Industry -- Mining
    Dress -- Accessory -- Hat
    Object -- Tool -- Axe
    Portrait male -- Straughn, John William -- Full length
    Object Type: 
    Outdoor Sculpture -- Colorado -- Denver
    Architectural component
    Sculpture
    Owner: 
    Albion Corporation, Brooks Towers Building Management, 1020 15th Street, Brooks Towers, Denver, Colorado 80203
    Provenance: 
    Formerly located Mining Exchange Building, 15th & Arapahoe Streets, Denver, Colorado 80203 1891-1963.
    Remarks: 
    The sculpture, which cost between $1,000-$1,500, was created for the new Mining Exchange Building, erected in 1891-1892. The sculpture was made by Alfonso Pelzer, an employee of W. H. Mullins Company. The figure was modeled after a photograph of John William Straughn (b. 1842), a local blacksmith and prospector. The nugget which the miner holds originally was silver, but in 1935 was replaced by gold plate. In 1939, the entire sculpture underwent a cleaning and a gold lacquer coating was added by Gordon Brown and Al Lenhart of Crafstmen, Painters & Decorators. In Jan. 1959, the sculpture was restored by the same firm.
    The sculpture was removed when the Mining Exchange Building was demolished in 1963. In 1981/1982, the owners of Brook Towers, built on the site of the old Mining Exchange Building, had the sculpture restored. Charles D. Quigley did the restoration work, which including the addition of a green patina. The sculpture was installed at the entrance to Brook Towers and rededicated on Nov. 1, 1982.
    IAS files contain newsclippings from the Denver Post, Jan. 7, 1951; Sept. 3, 1969, pg. 51 and Aug. 1, 1992; and from Rocky Mountain News, Sept. 2, 1984, pg. 22; The Downtowner, Oct. 27, 1982; and The Dodge City (Kansas), Nov. 13, 1951. IAS files contain related articles from The Western Engineer (March 1963): pg. 6; Brooks Towers News (December 1973); and Colorado Magazine (April 1962): pg. 117-124. IAS files contain press releases announcing the sculpture's rededication and a transcript of the speech given at the sculpture's rededication.
    References: 
    Save Outdoor Sculpture, Colorado, Denver survey, 1993.
    Illustration: 
    Image on file.
    The Denver Post, Aug. 1, 1992.
    Note: 
    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.
    Repository: 
    Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
    Control Number: 
    IAS CO000496
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    Inventory of American SculptureCO000496Add Copy to MyList

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