Father and Son, (sculpture).

Father and Son, (sculpture).

Parks, Charles Cropper, 1922-2012, sculptor.

Otto Strehle foundry, founder.

Father and Son, (sculpture).

1968. Dedicated Aug. 17, 1973.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. 76 in. x 2 ft. 7 in. x 3 ft. 2 in.; Base: approx. 2 ft. 9 in. x 2 ft. x 2 ft.

PARKS GUSS/STREHLE/NEUOTTING/2 (On plaque on back of base, raised letters:) DEDICATED TO THE WISDOM AND WORKS OF/THE REVEREND PETER SPENCER AND HIS/FOLLOWERS WHO FOUNDED HERE IN 1813/THE UNION CHURCH OF AFRICANS-THE/FIRST BLACK CHURCH IN AMERICA WHOLLY CONTROLLED BY DESCENDANTS OF AFRICANS/HERE LIE REV. & MRS. PETER SPENCER. signed Founder's mark appears.

A African-American male figure is seated on what appears to be piling, and is cradling a sleeping child in his arms. The father's face is looking upward. He wears a T-shirt and trousers. He and the child are barefoot.

Figure group -- Male & Child

Homage -- Spencer, Peter

Occupation -- Religion -- Bishop

Ethnic -- African American

Outdoor Sculpture -- Delaware -- Wilmington

Administered by City of Wilmington, Department of Parks and Recreation, 22 South Heald Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801

Located Spencer Plaza, French Street at 8th and 9th Streets, Wilmington, Delaware

Commissioned by the State of Delaware. Nearby plaque reads: GRAVESITE OF / BISHOP PETER SPENCER (1779-1843) AND HIS DEVOTED WIFE, ANNES. / Born a slave, Bishop Spencer was the father of / Delaware's Independent Black church movement. / In 1813, he founded the Union Church of Africans, presently known as the African Union Methodist / Protestant Church. The mother AUMP church / stood on this site from 1813 to 1970. The Union American Methodist Episcopal Church (UAME), / formally organized in 1865, traces its origins to / Spencer. He was also the founder of "August / Quarterly" in 1813, one of the oldest Black / folk festivals in America. / N.C.-84.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Delaware survey, 1994.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

Silver, Robert T., "Outdoor Sculpture in Wilmington," Wilmington, Delaware: Wilmington Arts Commission, 1987.

Silver, Robert T., "Outdoor Sculpture in Wilmington," Wilmington, Delaware: Wilmington Arts Commission, 1987, pg. 24-25.

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 3.25_9382

Powered by SirsiDynix

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

SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System