Miss American Green Cross, (sculpture).

Miss American Green Cross, (sculpture).

Potter, Frederick Willard, sculptor. (copy after)

Pekar, Ronald Walter, 1942- , sculptor.

Walker, Clay, contractor.

Sun Foundry, founder.

Brandelli Fine Arts, fabricator.

Miss American Green Cross, (sculpture).

Original 1927. Dedicated May 23, 1928. Recast 1992.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: concrete.

Sculpture: approx. H. 10 ft.; Base: approx. 70 in. x 10 ft. x 8 ft.

(Plaque on front of base:) HELP SAVE OUR TREES/THE FOREST IS THE MOTHER OF THE RIVERS (Plaque on front of base:) DEDICATED TO/THE AMERICAN GREEN CROSS/BY/GLENDALE CHAPTER NO 1/MCMXXVIII (On left side of base:) CONSERVE THE FORESTS/PREVENT EROSION-/RENEW SOIL FERTILITY/PERPETUATE THE LUMBER SUPPLY. (On right side of base:) PREVENT FOREST FIRES/PROTECT THE BIRDS/RESTORE THE STREAMS/FISH AND GAME-. (On back of cross:) NOT SIMPLY FOR SENTIMENT/BUT FOR THE VERY LIFE/OF OUR NATION. unsigned

A woman, dressed in a Grecian style gown, stands with arms outstretched in front of a cross. She stands atop pile of broken logs.

Portrait female -- Sumner, Verlyn -- Full length

Allegory -- Other -- Nature

Occupation -- Science -- Conservationist

Emblem -- Cross

Landscape -- Tree

Outdoor Sculpture -- California -- Glendale

Administered by City of Glendale, 613 East Broadway, Room 120, Glendale, California 91201

Located Brand Park, 1601 West Mountain Street, Glendale, California

A recast of a 1928 Potter sculpture. The original sculpture was commissioned by the Glendale Chapter of the American Green Cross Movement, an environmental protection organization (founded in Glendale). The original sculpture was dedicated in May of 1928. Miss Verlyn Sumner was the model for the female figure. The original sculpture was installed atop a six foot base on the grounds of the old Glendale High School, at the corner of Verdugo Road and Broadway and became the symbol for the American Green Cross Movement.

The sculpture suffered deterioration and damage over the years. The base of the sculpture was hit and damaged by a car; and sometime during the 1930s, the sculpture disappeared from its original site. In 1954, it was rediscovered in Brand Park canyon, but continued to be the subject of vandalism. The figure's arms and legs were removed; and the bronze surface scarred. In 1977, the statue received landmark status by Glendale's Historic Preservation.

Plaque on ground in front of sculpture reads: MISS AMERICAN GREEN CROSS/FREDERICK WILLARD POTTER - SCULPTOR, 1928/SYMBOL OF EARLY CONSERVATION MOVEMENT IN THE/UNITED STATES TO SAVE THE FORESTS OF AMERICA./COMMISSIONED BY THE FOUNDING CHAPTER OF/AMERICAN GREEN CROSS MOVEMENT, GLENDALE/HISTORICAL LANDMARK.

In 1981, Glendale Beautiful initiated an effort to restore the sculpture as a special Arbor Day project. It was not until 1990 that the restoration project began, under the auspices of the City of Glendale Parks and Recreation Department. The sculpture was recast at Sun Foundry in Burbank. Ron Pekar oversaw the recasting of the sculpture and Clay Walker performed concrete work on the memorial. The base was recast at Brandelli Fine Arts in South Elmonte. The new sculpture was reinstalled around September of 1992.

IAS files contain related articles from the Daily News, Feb. 27, 1981; the Los Angeles Times, Oct. 11, 1990; and articles from a Glendale newspaper, dated May 24, 1989 and March 7, 1990.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, California survey, 1994.

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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