Smokey the Bear, (sculpture).

Smokey the Bear, (sculpture).

Shumaker, Gordon, 1920- , sculptor.

Wendelin, Rudolph, designer.

Gordon Displays, fabricator.

Paul Laurence Concrete Inc., fabricator.

Smokey the Bear, (sculpture).

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: painted fiberglass over steel frame; Base: painted concrete.

Sculpture: approx. 26 ft. x 11 ft. 6 in. x 6 ft.: Base: approx. 3 ft. x 11 ft. 6 in. x 9 ft. 10 in.

(Front of hat:) SMOKEY (Belt buckle:) SMOKEY (Front of base:) SMOKEY SAYS/PREVENT FOREST FIRES unsigned

Smokey the Bear stands wearing blue pants, a belt, and a park ranger hat. His proper right arm is raised at the elbow as if he is waving and his proper left forearm is forward. His proper left hand is holding a shovel with the shovel end up. A small cub stands on Smokey's proper right side. The cub's proper left arm is raised as if he is waving. Another cub is sitting on Smokey's proper left side. The shovel handle rests in between his feet and he is holding the handle with both paws, proper left over proper right.

Occupation -- Service -- Fireman

Object -- Tool -- Shovel

Outdoor Sculpture -- Minnesota -- International Falls

Administered by City of International Falls, Parks Department, International Falls, Minnesota 56649

Located Smokey Bear Park, 3rd Street & 6th Avenue, International Falls, Minnesota

The sculpture was fabricated by Gordon Displays and the concrete stump was constructed by Paul Laurence Concrete, Inc. Although nearby plaque gives 1953 as installation date, SOS! survey says statue was erected in 1954.

A nearby plaque reads: WELCOME TO SMOKEY BEAR PARK. THE SMOKEY BEAR STATUE IS THE LARGEST OF ITS KIND IN THE COUNTRY. THE 26 FOOT REPLICA OF "SMOKEY," THE NATIONAL SYMBOL OF FOREST PROTECTION WAS ERECTED IN 1953 AS A PROJECT OF THE COUNTY'S KEEP MINNESOTA GREEN COMMITTEE.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Minnesota survey, 1995.

Harris, Moira F., "Monumental Minnesota," Pogo Press, 1992, pg. 66.

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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