Holford Memorial, (sculpture).

Holford Memorial, (sculpture).

Unknown (Italian), sculptor.

Holford Memorial, (sculpture).

ca. 1988. Installed May 1988. Dedicated 1989.

Sculpture: marble; Foundation: granite.

Sculpture: approx. 62 1/2 x 39 x 29 in.; Foundation: approx. 4 x 50 x 50 in.; Crypt: approx. 65 x 102 x 104 in.

(On sign held by figure, incised lettering:) DON'T BE/AFRAID TO/STAND ALONE (On front of sculpture base, incised lettering:) 1970-1986 "BUNNIE" (On crypt, north face:) THELMA E. HOLFORD/DEC. 26, 1906/AUG. 6, 1989/MY DAILY PRAYERS/GOD HELP ME KEEP MY LONG NOSE/OUT OF OTHER PEOPLE'S BUSINESS/AND GIVE ME TWENTY-SIX HOURS/EACH DAY TO MIND MY OWN. (On crypt, south face:) WORLD'S FIRST AWNING WOMAN/SELLING - MFG - INSTALLING/SINCE - 1934/MADE EVERYTHING BUT AN APPETITE/MENDED EVERYTHING BUT A BROKEN HEART/DESCENDANT OF PIONEER FAMILIES/BARRETT-WATKINS-SELF-PATTON/DAUGHTER OF/J G AND LELA MAE (PATTON) WATKINS unsigned

An older Thelma E. Holford, stands with feet close together, back hunched slightly, and wavy hair rolled in a simple bonnet-like coiffure. She wears a plain dress with short sleeves and a wide collar that is tied around the waist. A watch is around her proper left wrist. She holds an inscribed sign in front of her with both hands at thigh-level. Bunnie, her dog, lays at her feet in front of her, his head erect and alert-looking, his ears flopped down. He is a medium-sized, mixed breed dog with a wavy coat. The dog's paws drape over the front of a short sculpture base. The sculpture is mounted on a short slab foundation. An aboveground, rectangular crypt rests directly to the left of the sculpture.

Portrait female -- Holford, Thelma E. -- Full length

Occupation -- Other -- Businessman

Animal -- Portrait -- Bunnie

Outdoor Sculpture -- Arkansas -- Jonesboro

Administered by Jonesboro Memorial Park Cemetery, 3910 Harrisburg Road, Jonesboro, Arkansas 72401

Located Jonesboro Memorial Park Cemetery, North side, center of cemetery, Jonesboro, Arkansas

Thelma E. Holford commissioned the sculpture, which was created in Italy. It was placed next to her aboveground crypt in May of 1988, two years after the death of her dog, and a year before her own death in 1989. Ms. Holford, who was a seller, manufacturer and installer of awnings since 1934, was also known for her strong back, her strong opinions and her love of dogs. According to her lifelong friend, Lela Montgomery, who was executrix of Holford's will, she made provisions in her will for the establishment of a cemetery for dogs, because "she had no children...her dogs were like her children." When Holford wanted to bury her first dog in the same cemetery with her mother, but was not allowed to do so, the idea for a pet cemetery was born and in 1991, the Thelma Holford Pet Cemetery was established in Jonesboro, Arkansas. IAS files contain a related article from the Jonesboro Sun, Dec. 16, 1991, pg. 7.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Arkansas survey, 1993.

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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