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More Smithsonian Searches     Who else has...     Ratcliff, W. T.,     Animal -- Buffalo     Animal -- Reptile     Animal -- Reptile     Fantasy -- Animal     Figure -- Head     Figure -- Fragment     Earthwork     Folk     Outdoor Sculpture -- California -- Jacumba     Site-specific     Sculpture

Untitled, (sculpture). Artist:  Ratcliff, W. T., sculptor. Title:  Untitled, (sculpture). Dates:  Early 1930s. Digital Reference:  Medium:  Granite. Inscription:  unsigned Description:  A large grouping of natural granite boulders, varying in size and shape, carved into fantastic figures and animal shapes, including faces, skulls, snakes, a buffalo and a lizard. Originally a grouping of thirty seven sculptures, only fourteen remain. Subject:  Animal -- Buffalo Animal -- Reptile -- Lizard Animal -- Reptile -- Snake Fantasy -- Animal Figure -- Head Figure -- Fragment -- Skull Object Type:  Earthwork Folk Outdoor Sculpture -- California -- Jacumba Site-specific Sculpture Owner:  Administered by Knapp Family Corporation, P. O. Box 301, Jacumba, California 91934 Located Desert Tower, Boulder Park Caves, Jacumba, California Remarks:  Desert Tower was built in 1922-1923 to commemorate the pioneers, road and railroad builders. In the early 1930s, W. T. Ratcliff, an engineer, came to the area to recuperate from tuberculosis and work on the tower. In his spare time over the next five years, he carved the sculptures in the surrounding rocks. Nearby plaque reads: Bert Vaughn of Jacumba built the stone tower in 1922-23 to commemorate the pioneers and road and railroad builders who opened the area in the 1930's. W.T. Ratcliff carved the stone animal figures which lurk in the rocks surrounding the tower, creating a fantasy world of surprise and strange beauty. This remarkable sculptural assemblage is one of California's exceptional folk art environments. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 939 Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with Imperial Valley pioneers and Squibob chapter, E. Clampus Vitas May 5, 1984. IAS files contain images of only some of the 14 extant pieces. IAS files contain related excerpts from Kristen Lawson and Anneli S. Rufus' "America off the Wall: The West Coast: A Guide to Unusual Sights," New York, Wiley, c1989, pg. 12-13; and Seymour Rosen's "In Celebration of Ourselves," San Francisco: California Living Books in Association with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, c1979. Rosen's text lists the artist as M. T. Ratcliff. For additional information see: Peter R. Odens "The Desert's Edge," Benson, Az.: Border-Mountain Press, 1977, pg. 21-29. References:  Save Outdoor Sculpture, California, San Diego survey, 1993. Illustration:  Image on file. Rosen, Seymour, "In Celebration of Ourselves," San Francisco: California Living Books in Association with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, c1979, pg. 60-61. 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 CA000969   Copy/Holding information Smithsonian AmericanArt Museum Control Number   Inventory of American Sculpture CA000969 Add Copy to MyList Format: HTMLPlain textDelimited Subject:   Email to:

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