W.E.B. Du Bois Sculpture Project Selects Artist
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The W.E.B. Du Bois Sculpture Project has selected artist Richard Blake to create a monument to W.E.B. Du Bois that will be placed in front of the town's Mason Public Library.
Blake was one of three finalists who presented models of their proposed statues to the Sculpture Project jury. The models were displayed to the public at the Mason Library in Great Barrington and at the Berkshire Athenaeum in Pittsfield.
"All three of our applicants were talented, highly regarded sculptors, each with a unique vision of Du Bois," said jury leader and board member Lauren Clark, a gallerist. She was joined on that panel by painter/sculptor Reginald Madison and writer/activist Delano Burrowes. "Ours was a difficult decision, but after much discussion, we found Blake's model the most responsive to our vision."
Richard Blake earned a degree from the Tyler School of Fine Arts, Temple University. He recently completed a statue of Frederick Douglass for Abolition Park in New Bedford.
"My public sculptures commemorate social activism and those who have contributed or fought for social justice,"Blake said. "I want to shed light on often overlooked or marginalized American heroes of color."
Blake's other works include a sculpture of Rosa Parks for the U.S. Architects of The Capitol. His other monuments include the Martin Luther King Monument for Fairleigh Dickinson University, the Milton & Catherine Hershey Monument, Hershey,PA., and the Martin Luther King Monument at the University of California, Peace Garden. Blake was recently awarded, the coveted "Medal of Honor" for his contributions to American Sculpture (2023) by The National Sculpture Society.
"We were awed at the astounding talent of all three applicants," said Julie Michaels, co-chair of the W.E.B. Du Bois Sculpture Project, a non-profit created to raise funds for the statue. "We are also delighted that the proposed figure has received such universal support from the community."
The organization is still raising funds for the sculpture and for the renovation of the Mason Library Plaza where the statue will be installed in the fall of 2024.
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