Patapsco Delta, (sculpture).

Patapsco Delta, (sculpture).

Sanborn, Jim, 1945- , sculptor.

Patapsco Delta, (sculpture).

Patapsco River Project, (sculpture).

Digital Reference:

Concrete, Mayari R steel, aluminum, and brass.

Sculpture: approx. 12 ft. x 72 ft. 6 in. x 23 ft. 4 in.

The design of this abstract sculpture was influenced by the Mayan culture and the temples of Guatemala in particular. On the far edge of an open field, ten concrete pyramids line each side of an opening that contains a pool of water. Resting on top of the pyramids is a steel lintel, which holds four additional concrete pyramids. Light streams through openings and is reflected in the pool below.

Abstract -- Geometric

Landscape -- River -- Patapsco River

Outdoor Sculpture -- Maryland -- Baltimore

Administered by City of Baltimore, Recreation and Parks, 2600 Madison Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21217

Located Reedbird Park, Hanover & Reedbird Streets, Baltimore, Maryland 21225

This sculpture was one of four created as part of a sculpture symposium sponsored by the Mayor's Office of Art and Culture in the summer of 1977. During the summer, four artists were asked to create a piece of sculpture to mark one of the four major entrances into the city of Baltimore (only two of the four remain; see Untitled by Dominic Cea record number MD000227). The city allowed an outdoor sculpture studio for all of the artist to be set up on a lot on the corner of Centre and St. Paul Streets, giving passersby a direct and ongoing view into the works in progress. City crews assisted and more than twenty companies donated tools, equipment and services to the project. For this sculpture, Curtis Steel donated between 12,000 and 15,000 pounds of Mayari R steel, and the city contributed and poured the concrete. The steel was sheared for free from the Edward Renneburg & Sons Company. The artist estimated that it might have cost about $100,000 to assemble the piece if it had not been for the donations of materials and labor. IAS files contain a newspaper article from The Sun (Baltimore, MD), Aug. 11, 1977, that describes the works created by all four artists. For additional information see Henry and Caroline Naylor's "Public Monuments & Sculpture of Baltimore: An Introduction to the Collection," 1987.

Freudenheim, Leslie M., "Baltimore's Public Art," Baltimore: Scheidereith & Sons, 1980.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Maryland, Baltimore survey, 1993.

Inventory staff, 2001.

Freudenheim, Leslie M., "Baltimore's Public Art," Baltimore: Scheidereith & Sons, 1980, pg. 6.

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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