Statue of Benjamin Franklin (Columbus, Ohio)
A statue of Benjamin Franklin stands inside the Franklin County Government Center in Columbus, Ohio. The 12-foot (3.7 m) work was created by sculptor James P. Anderson, created in 1974. It was cast in 18 pieces from his maquette. Its cost was estimated at $50,000 in December 1972 (with funds raised mostly by the Columbus Bar Association and the Columbus Foundation). Anderson was the chair of Muskingum College's art department; he had visited Boston and Philadelphia to research existing statues of Franklin. Anderson finished the statue while on sabbatical in Italy. It was cast at the Luigi Tommasi Foundry in Pietrasanta.[1] It is currently housed in a glassy entrance pavilion to the Franklin County Hall of Justice.[2]
Statue of Benjamin Franklin | |
---|---|
Artist | James P. Anderson |
Year | 1974 |
Type | Sculpture |
Subject | Benjamin Franklin |
Dimensions | 3.7 m (12 ft) |
Location | Columbus, Ohio, United States |
39.954425°N 82.999865°W |
In 2011, the statue was joined in the building's lobby by the 2006 work Man of Characters, a 10-foot-tall portrait of Franklin, a gift from Ron Pizzuti's family. The work, by Brian Tolle, depicts Franklin as he appears on the $100 bill, but the lines that shape him are made up of Franklin's writings.[3]