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The public sculpture
of Lentil is in Hamilton, Ohio.
Lentil was the first book that Robert McCloskey
wrote and illustrated in 1940. The drawings are reminiscent of his
hometown of Hamilton, Ohio where he was born.
In October of 1999. the Executive Director of the
Hamilton Community Foundation told me that the foundation was celebrating
its 50th anniversary in 2001 and they wanted to honor Robert McCloskey.
A wonderfully creative park was designed by internationally
know landscape architect Warren Klink, where my sculpture delightfully
resides. I chose a drawing from the book showing Lentil strutting
through town playing his harmonica followed by his faithful dog.
Mr. McCloskey played the harmonica and had a dog, so although this
book is fictional, it is strongly biographical.
The town of Hamilton held a dog naming contest prior
to my putting in the sculpture, hence, the name of the sculpture
is “Lentil and his Dog Harmony”. This name although chosen
prior to September 11, seemed even more appropriate when the sculpture
was dedicated on September 21, 2001.
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