Robert Louis Stevenson Statue Set for Unveiling
Robert Louis Stevenson figure and bench structure during the sculpting process
A life-size bronze installation depicting Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson will be publicly unveiled next month after seven years of planning, fundraising, sculpting and fabrication.
The Robert Louis Stevenson Public Art Project in Calistoga, California, will dedicate the statue on November 7 - six days before Stevenson's birthday - which also shows Stevenson's wife Fanny Osbourne Stevenson and their dog Chuchu at the historic 1868 Calistoga Depot. A period satchel and a bronze book are incorporated into the work.
Created by sculptor Garr Ugalde, the work is designed around a Victorian-style bench rather than a traditional pedestal so that visitors will be able to sit within the composition beside Stevenson, Fanny and Chuchu.
Shortly after their marriage in 1880, Stevenson and Fanny travelled by train to Calistoga and later spent time on Mount St. Helena. That Napa Valley period became part of the California experience Stevenson would later write about in The Silverado Squatters.
Ugalde first created the figures by hand. The work then moved through 3D photography and scanning, full-scale enlargement and finally traditional bronze fabrication. The project is now in its final production stage ahead of installation in Calistoga.
"The dedication will mark the culmination of a community effort that began with a much simpler idea, creating a place for local students and residents to sit," said a spokesperson for the project. "Over time, that idea grew into a permanent piece of public art intended to connect Calistoga’s present-day community with an important chapter of its literary past."
