Sundial, (sculpture).

Sundial, (sculpture).

Stubbs, Lu, 1925- , sculptor.

Reed, Nicholas S., landscape architect.

Paul King Foundry, founder.

Sundial, (sculpture).

1987. Copyrighted 1988. Cast 1988-1989. Dedicated June 8, 1991.

Digital Reference:

Bronze, granite, and concrete.

Overall: approx. H. 1 1/2 ft. Diam. 10 ft.; Boy holding baby: approx. 48 x 27 x 18 in; Child standing on sundial: approx. 28 x 15 x 10 in.

(On lowest part of boy's left leg, back:) (copyright symbol) Lu Stubbs 1988 (On lowest edge of bronze sundial gnomon:) (copyright symbol) Lu Stubbs 1988 (On lower right of bronze number 12 - Patriot:) (copyright symbol) L.S. '88 (On top of granite sundial:) CHARLESTOWN/1626 (On bronze number 3:) Shoe/maker (On bronze number 4:) Stone cutter (On bronze number 5:) Spinner signed

The sundial consists of a 10 ft. diameter concrete disc faced in granite, with a bronze gnomon, bronze relief numbers, and bronze figures of three children playing on the sundial. The relief on each of the sundial numbers depicts a craftsperson of colonial Charlestown performing a daily chore. Craftspeople depicted include: a blacksmith, a shipbuilder, a weaver, a spinner, a baker, a stonecutter, and a shoemaker. An additional relief on the face of the sundial depicts a Patriot. Standing on the ground immediately adjacent to the sundial is a bronze figure young boy holding his baby sister. Both look down at one of the sundial numbers. In the center of the sundial, a small child stands on the sundial's gnomon, looking around it as if to play peek-a-boo with the boy and baby. The name of Charlestown and its founding date, 1629, are inscribed on the top of the sundial. Brick paving and granite benches surround the sundial.

History -- United States -- Massachusetts

Dress -- Historic -- Eighteenth Century Dress

Occupation -- Craft -- Textile Worker

Occupation -- Craft -- Smithing

Occupation -- Craft -- Shoemaker

Occupation -- Domestic -- Cooking

Occupation -- Political -- Patriot

Outdoor Sculpture -- Massachusetts -- Boston

Administered by City of Boston, Boston Art Commission, Office of Cultural Affairs, Boston City Hall, Room 716, Boston, Massachusetts 02201

Located Hayes Square, Bunker Hill & Moulton Streets, Boston, Massachusetts

The inscription on a bronze plaque embedded in the brick paving near the sundial reads: FOR THE/ADORNMENT/AN BENEFIT/OF BOSTON/ Redesign and reconstruction of Hayes Square were made/possible in 1990 by the Bunker Hill Tenants Task Force/with the artist Lu Stubbs through a grant from the/Edward Ingersoll Browne Trust Fund/a private fund administered by/The City of Boston.

In February of 1986, the Bunker Hill Tenants Task Force and the Charlestown Preservation Society invited Lu Stubbs to apply for a commission to create a Charlestown sculpture using a pilot grant from the Edward Ingersoll Browne Trust Fund. The artist's choice of the sundial was in response to the community's desire for artwork that was functional and historical. The artist collaborated with landscape architect Nicholas S. Reed and his assistant Rebecca Krinke on the redesign of Charlestown's Hayes Square. The plans were submitted in April 1986 and work on the sundial was completed in the following two years, but the site was not ready until the spring of 1991. The bronze figure of the boy holding his baby sister was modeled after the artist's grandchildren.

IAS files contain newspaper articles from the Charlestown Patriot and Somerville Chronicle, April 17, 1986; March 24, 1988; and Aug. 15, 1991; The Sharon Advocate, July 5, 1991; and the Winchester Star, Aug. 30, 1990; an excerpt from Ruth T. Davis' "The Unknown Legacy of Edward Ingersoll Browne," Master's thesis, Northeastern University, 1988, pg.16-23; and an excerpt from "The Browne Fund Report, the First Ten Years 1978-1987," pg. 7.

Carlock, Marty, "A Guide to Public Art in Greater Boston," Boston: Harvard Common Press, 1988.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Massachusetts 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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