Boy and the Boot, (sculpture).

Boy and the Boot, (sculpture).

Unknown, sculptor.

Boy and the Boot, (sculpture).

Boy with the Leaking Boot, (sculpture).

Boy with the Boot, (sculpture).

Immigrant, (sculpture).

1916. Relocated after 1975.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: metal, painted blue, red, white and gray; Basin: metal, painted green.

Sculpture: approx. 5 ft. 5 in. x 2 ft. x 1 ft. 8 in.; Basin: approx. H. 2 ft. 11 in. x W. 8 ft.

A full-length figure of a boy stands on a rock-like base. He wears a red shirt, cap and blue trousers rolled to the knee. He holds one of his boots up in his proper right hand. His proper left hand is in his pocket. The other boot is on his proper left foot while his proper right foot sports only a long white sock. The work stands in an octagonal decorative basin with eight bird baths around the rim and two troughs for dogs and cats.

Figure male -- Child -- Full length

Dress -- Accessory -- Shoe

Outdoor Sculpture -- Maine -- Houlton

Coadministered by City of Houlton, Parks & Recreation, Main Street, Houlton, Maine 04730

Coadministered by Houlton Garden Club, Houlton, Maine

Located Pierce Park, Main Street, Houlton, Maine

Formerly located Monument Park, Houlton, Maine 1916-ca. 1975.

Purchased for $604 with money bequeathed to the Town of Houlton by Mrs. Clara P. Frisbie in 1914. This is reportedly one of twenty-six such "Boy and the Boot" sculptures in locations around the world. The origins are not known, but the sculpture is thought to have originated in Europe. The work was restored in 1973 by Bill Kimball at the London Motors body shop. At this time the legs and feet were rebuilt, a broken shoulder and the nose were repaired, missing fingers were replaced and the whole figure was given a new coat of paint. The Houlton Rotary Club, the Houlton Garden Club, and the City of Houlton raised funds for the repairs. After the refurbished figure was replaced in Monument Park, it became the target of rocks, bottles, and other thrown objects. The Houlton Fire Department then rebuilt the fountain and figure, and the work was placed in Pierce Park sometime after 1975. Many community groups use the sculpture as a logo for charitable and other fundraising purposes. IAS files contain an unpublished essay detailing the local history of the fountain and some of the legends surrounding the sculpture. IAS files also contain two newspaper articles from the Pioneer Times, June 29, 2016, pg. 1-12 describing the history and restoration of the sculpture.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Maine survey, 1994.

Inventory Staff, 2011, 2017.

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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