Sunnyslope Rock Garden, (sculpture).

Sunnyslope Rock Garden, (sculpture).

Thompson, Grover Cleveland, 1891-1978, sculptor.

Sunnyslope Rock Garden, (sculpture).

Mixed media, mostly concrete, with crockery and bottle shards, pie tins, Fiesta and Jade ware, Bromo-Seltzer and 7-Up bottles, Depression glass, plaster, lights, plastic, wood, ceramic, iron and stone, partially painted.

Overall lot: approx. 60 x 200 ft.

A sculpture garden with over fifty structures and fifty figures. Included are seven windmills; seven fountains; picnickers at a table; a small log cabin; a replica of the Seattle Space Needle; an Indian village; several houses with an island and a complex waterway; a representation of the town of Jerome; a wishing well; a wedding cake house with a star on top; a structure decorated with eleven arches; an Indian family with a tepee; a wild pig, or javilina; bears; turtles; frogs; Godzilla; King Kong; Popeye sitting like a Buddha in a temple; twelve painted Jackie Kennedy heads; and a re-creation of early Sunnyslope, with Duffy's Tavern and stables, a church, store, lodge and a tiny outhouse. There was once a Superman figure. Some of the structures are wired for light and some of the surfaces are painted.

Cityscape -- Arizona -- Jerome

Cityscape -- Arizona -- Sunnyslope

Portrait female -- Onassis, Aristotle Socrates, Mrs. (Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy) -- Head

Ethnic -- Indian

Animal -- Reptile -- Turtle

Animal -- Amphibian -- Frog

Architecture -- Domestic -- Tepee

Architecture -- Domestic -- House

Architecture -- Industry -- Windmill

Cartoon -- Comics -- Popeye

Outdoor Sculpture -- Arizona -- Phoenix

Blake, Marion, 10023 North 13th Place, Phoenix, Arizona 85020

The sculptures were a continuing project for the artist, who created them in his back yard. After his death, the house and yard with the sculptures were purchased by Marion Blake. IAS files contain related articles from the Arizona Republic, March 7, 1993, pg. E-2; the Phoenix Magazine, (Feb. 1993), pg. 9; the Phoenix Home and Garden (June 1993); and Grit (May 1993) and the Phoenix Gazette, Jan. 19, 1990. For additional reading, see Phoenix Gazette April 19, 1991. The current owner, Marion Blake has replaced worn sunglasses and hats on the figures.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Arizona survey, 1993.

Arizona Republic, March 7, 1993, pg. E-2.

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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