Paul Bunyan, (sculpture).

Paul Bunyan, (sculpture).

Conn, Betty, sculptor.

Tuttle, Edward X., architect.

Paul Bunyan, (sculpture).

Automobile hoods and bumpers, sandblasted and primed, extra-coarse steel shavings, primed and sprayed black, painted wood, and logs.

Approx. 30 x 12 x 10 ft.

A tall stylized sculpture of legendary Paul Bunyan, constructed mostly of Kaiser automobile hoods and bumpers. The hoods create his garments while the bumpers become his hat and feet. His curly hair and beard are black steel shavings, and his head is wired for lighting. His shirt is brown, his pants blue, and his hat and elbows are red. His boots are black with white laces. He holds an axe against his shoulder with is proper left hand, and his proper right hand rests on his bent proper right knee that rests on a pile of logs.

Literature -- Character -- Paul Bunyan

Occupation -- Industry -- Lumber

Object -- Tool -- Axe

Outdoor Sculpture -- Michigan -- Grayling

Owned by Hamilton, Bernard L., Route 5, Box 5486, Grayling, Michigan 49738

Located 2247 I-75 Business Loop South, P. O. Box 603, Grayling, Michigan 49738

Formerly located Indian Museum, Gaylord, Michigan before 1981.

Formerly located Paul Bunyan Gas Station, Main Street, Gaylord, Michigan

Cost $4,500. Edward X. Tuttle designed the internal superstructure. Created from old auto parts taken from junkyards in Detroit. Bill Woelk was the original owner and for about twelve years the sculpture was perched on top of the Paul Bunyan Gas Station in Gaylord, which he owned. When the gas station closed, the sculpture was sold and moved several hundred feet away in front of the Indian Museum. When the museum went out of business, sculpture was acquired by Bernard Hamilton, broker for AuSable-Manistee Realty, Inc., to be used as the company symbol. Moved to its present location in 1981. IAS files contain a related article from The Bay City Times, May 27, 1981, pg. 1E, 2E.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Michigan survey, 1992.

Bay City Times, May 27, 1981, pg. 1E.

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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