Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn at the Foot of Cardiff Hill, (sculpture).

Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn at the Foot of Cardiff Hill, (sculpture).

Hibbard, Frederick Cleveland, 1881-1950, sculptor.

Chicago Art Bronze Works, founder.

Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn at the Foot of Cardiff Hill, (sculpture).

Tom and Huck Statue, (sculpture).

1925. Dedicated May 27, 1926.

Sculpture: bronze; Base; red granite.

Sculpture: approx. 83 x 54 x 38 in.; Base: approx. 54 x 56 x 40 in.

Chicago Art Bronze Work (sic) (Front of bronze base, incised lettering:) A TRIBUTE TO MARK TWAIN unsigned Founder's mark appears.

The sculpture depicts Mark Twain's two fictional characters, Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, walking in stride side by side. Tom Sawyer is shown holding a staff and knapsack over his proper right shoulder. He is barefoot and wears suspenders and a cap. Huck Finn walks on Tom's proper right side, holding Tom by the arm and looking up at him. Huck Finn is barefoot and wears overalls and a straw hat. He holds a walking stick out in front of him with his proper right hand. The sculpture is mounted upon an octagonal base of polished red granite.

Literature -- Twain -- Huckleberry Finn

Literature -- Twain -- Tom Sawyer

Literature -- Character -- Huckleberry Finn

Literature -- Character -- Tom Sawyer

Outdoor Sculpture -- Missouri -- Hannibal

Administered by Mark Twain Home Board, 208 Hill Street, Hannibal, Missouri 63401

Located Intersection of North & Main Streets, foot of Cardiff Hill, Hannibal, Missouri

This monument was donated in 1925 by George A. Mahan, an attorney and former president of the Missouri Historical Society, along with his wife, Ida D. Mahan, and their son, Dulany Mahan. Author Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens) is Hannibal's best known citizen. The installation site, Cardiff Hill, is one block from Twain's boyhood home in the Historic District of Hannibal. Mahan selected Cardiff Hill because it was a favorite spot for the antics of Mark Twain and his boyhood friends, and it served as inspiration for Twain's stories of boyhood along the Mississippi. The City Council gave permission to have the monument installed in the middle of Main Street, which, at the time had not been developed into a usable street, and the monument blocked Main Street from extending up Cardiff Hill. The sculpture was restored in 1984 through the Mark Twain Home Foundation.

Inscription on bronze plaque on wall behind sculpture (left side) reads: The monument presented to Hannibal / by / Geo. A. Mahan - Ida D. Mahan / and / Dulany Mahan / 1925. Inscription on bronze plaque on wall behind sculpture (right side) reads: Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn at the Foot of Cardiff Hill.

IAS files contain articles from the Hannibal Evening Courier-Post, May 19, 1926, pg. 1, the Hanibal Courier-Post and Hannibal Journal, May 20, 1926, pg. 1, and May 27, 1926, pg. 1 and 9, the latter including a discussion of the dedication; an excerpt from "Art Course of Study," 1956 Edition; and two excerpts from unidentified publications.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Missouri survey, 1994.

The Hannibal Courier-Post and Hannibal Journal, May 27, 1926, pg. 1.

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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