(Eugene O'Neill Boyhood Statue), (sculpture).

(Eugene O'Neill Boyhood Statue), (sculpture).

Legassie, Norman, 1951- , sculptor.

(Eugene O'Neill Boyhood Statue), (sculpture).

1988. Dedicated Oct. 16, 1988. Copyrighted 1988.

Digital Reference:

Bronze on a granite bolder base.

Sculpture: approx. 27 x 16 x 35 in.; Base: approx. 30 x 66 x 68 in.

Norman Legassie/(copyright symbol) 88 signed

"A slightly larger than life figure of Eugene O'Neill as a child. The figure, seated on the large boulder base with legs stretched out in front, faces south. The figure is dressed in typical turn of the century garb of shorts, high laced shoes, short jacket, shirt without collar, and a small cap with brim. The figure's face gazes forward and downward. Each arm is bent 90 degrees at the elbow; the proper right hand holds a writing tablet that rests on the figure's lap. The proper left hand holds a writing implement and is in the midst of drawing on the tablet; the tablet has the incised images of a lighthouse, sailing ship, an sun. The proper left leg is tilted slightly to the right."

Portrait male -- O'Neill, Eugene -- Child

Portrait male -- O'Neill, Eugene -- Full length

Occupation -- Writer -- Dramatist

Object -- Written Matter -- Paper

Dress -- Accessory -- Hat

Outdoor Sculpture -- Connecticut -- New London

Administered by City of New London, Public Works Department, 111 Union Street, New London, Connecticut 06320

Located City Pier, Water Street, New London, Connecticut 06320

A metal plaque, with a photograph of the O'Neill as a child, under glass reads: EUGENE GLADSTONE O'NEILL 1888-1953/America's Greatest Playwright/The statue was donated to the people of New London on October 16,/1988 to commemorate the centennial of Eugene O'Neill's birth. The idea/for the statue was inspired by the above photograph showing O'Neill as a/boy on the New London Waterfront in 1895./The Monte Cristo Cottage on 325 Pequot Avenue was his boyhood/home. He was the only American dramatist to win the Nobel Prize/and four Pulitzer Prizes. O'Neill was the first American playwright to gain in-/ternational acclaim and stands with Chekhov, Ibsen and Shaw as a master/of modern drama. His plays include The Hairy Ape, The Emperor Jones, Beyond The Horizon, Anna Christie, Strange Interlude, Desire Under the/Elms, Mourning Becomes Electra, Ah! Wilderness, The Iceman Cometh,/and Long Day's Journey Into Night./The statue was commissioned by George C. White and funding made/possible by:/Eugene O'Neill Centennial Committee/Marine Commerce and Development Committee/Frank Loomis Palmer Fund/Connecticut State Commission on the Arts/The City of New London (At bottom right corner:) Sculptor Norman W. Legassie. IAS files contain copies of The Day (New London, CT), Oct. 17, 1988, pg. A1, and The Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT), March 3, 1987, pg. 1.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Connecticut survey, 1993.

The Day (New London, CT), Oct. 17, 1988, pg. A1.

The Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT), March 3, 1987, pg. 1.

The Day (New London, CT), Oct. 17, 1988, pg. A1.

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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