Woodbrige N. Ferris Centennial Sculpture, (sculpture).

Woodbrige N. Ferris Centennial Sculpture, (sculpture).

Fairbanks, Avard, 1897-1987, sculptor.

Young Fine Art Casting, founder.

Woodbrige N. Ferris Centennial Sculpture, (sculpture).

Centennial Sculpture, (sculpture).

1983. Dedicated Sept. 25, 1983.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: Colonial (?) rose granite, and stone.

Overall: approx. H. 13 1/2 ft.; Sculpture: approx. 8 ft. 6 in. x 3 ft. 8 in. x 3 ft. 3 in.; Upper base: approx. 4 ft. x 4 ft. 8 in. x 3 ft. 9 in.

(Proper left on back of sculpture's pedestal:) Avard Fairbanks, 1983 (On back:) Young Fine Arts Casting, Salt Lake City, Utah (Around upper border of base, incised lettering:) (Front:) WOODBRIDGE N. FERRIS (one side:) STATESMAN (rear:) HUMANITARIAN (other side:) EDUCATOR signed Founder's mark appears.

A full-length portrait of Woodbridge N. Ferris. He is depicted standing, with his proper right hand resting beside a book atop a partially draped pedestal, and holding rolled document in his proper left hand. He wears a long dress coat, with vest and tie. The sculpture is mounted upon a rectangular, multitiered, polished granite base, set upon a bottom tier of stone. The monument is set within a circular plaza.

Portrait male -- Ferris, Woodbridge N. -- Full length

Occupation -- Education -- Principal

Occupation -- Political -- Senator

Occupation -- Political -- Governor

Architecture -- Detail -- Pedestal

Object -- Written Matter -- Scroll

Outdoor Sculpture -- Michigan -- Big Rapids

Administered by Ferris State University, Buildings and Grounds, 901 South State Street, Big Rapids, Michigan 49307

Located Ferris State University, Centennial Sculpture Plaza, west outer edge of Campus Drive, Big Rapids, Michigan

Ferris State University was known as Ferris State College when the monument was dedicated. The sculpture was erected by the Centennial Sculpture Committee, coordinated by faculty member Dacho Dachoff and student member James Govan. The idea for the monument was first suggested by John Schauble, a Ferris State College art teacher. The sculpture was cast by Young Fine Art Casting; the base was fabricated by the Cold Spring Company. The 1983 dedication of the monument marked the beginning of the College's Centennial Celebration. The sculpture has been vandalized with adhesives and graffiti.

The monument commemorates Woodbridge N. Ferris (1853-1928), born in Spencer, New York, a principal and superintendent who settled in Grand Rapids in 1884 and established the Big Rapids Industrial School (or Ferris Industrial School), the predecessor of Ferris State College. Ferris also served as Governor of Michigan from 1913 to 1916, and as a U.S. Senator. The figure of Ferris is placed facing towards his birthplace of Spencer. The monument cost $44,572.70, funded by private donation, with the Michigan National Corporation contributing $13,000. (A list of donors is located in the lobby to Williams Auditorium).

IAS files contain a Ferris State College brochure soliciting funds for the sculpture; a dedication program (with a partial list of donors) and dedication flyer; and excerpt from Ferris State College's "Report to the President from the Centennial Task Force, 1980-1984," 1984, pg. 28.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Michigan 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

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