Maxie, (sculpture).

Maxie, (sculpture).

Jackson, David, sculptor.

Guilford, Larry, assistant.

Watts, Speedy, assistant.

Reedy, Gaye, painter.

Mitchel, Don, assistant.

McArthur, Rod, assistant.

Bruening's Nursery, landscape architect.

Maxie, (sculpture).

Installed autumn 1974. Dedicated Oct. 31, 1975.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: painted fiberglass over steel wire; Base: concrete, painted.

Sculpture: approx. H. 40 ft. x W. 60 ft.; Base: approx. 10 x 10 x 10 ft. (3 tons).

MAXIE/WORLD'S LARGEST GOOSE/SUMNER, MO.

A gigantic replica of a male Wild Canadian Goose, portrayed in a standing position, head erect and wings extended. The goose sits atop a triangular base that has rollers at each corner to allow the sculpture to move in winds of 20 MPH or higher. The base is hollow and once had a recording system, now absent, that gave information about the sculpture.

Animal -- Bird -- Goose

Outdoor Sculpture -- Missouri -- Sumner

Administered by Town of Sumner, Community Betterment, Sumner, Missouri 64681

Located Sumner Community Park, Sumner, Missouri

The sculpture cost $14,000 and was sponsored by the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of Sumner, Missouri, as the town's Bicentennial Project. It honors the Wild Canada Goose, the largest of several subspecies of "Branta canadensis maxima," from which the sculpture's nickname "Maxie" is derived. Sumner is known as the "Wild Goose Capital of the World," a haven for migrating geese each fall at nearby Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and the Wild Canada Goose is a popular attraction. The sculpture was erected in Oct. 1974, around the time of Swan Lake Tour Day, and its dedication the following October kicked off the 21st annual Goose Festival at Sumner. The artist designed the sculpture so it would move life-like in the wind, and in an 80 MPH wind, it exerts a lift equal to its weight. The artist was assisted by Larry Guilford and "Speedy" Watts, both of Hale, in welding and attaching the wings. Gaye Reedy of Kansas City painted the sculpture. The recording system on the base, now absent, was installed by Dr. Don Mitchel and Rod McArthur from the Academic Support Center of the University of Columbia. Bruening's Nursery of Higginsville landscaped the area around the base.

IAS files contain newspaper articles from The Chariton Courier, Oct. 24, 1974; Oct. 31, 1974, pg. 1; June 12, 1975, pg. 4; Oct. 20, 1975, pg. 1; and a brochure entitled "Maxie, Bi-Centennial Project of Sumner, Mo," which includes information about the recording played on the sound system in the base.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Missouri survey, 1994.

The Chariton Courier, Oct. 31, 1974, pg. 1.

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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