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Nr.120"Elizabeth" From
Randall's Urban Sculptures Collection
My clay model during the initial rough layout stage creating the round moulding and border moldings;
An earlier work-in-progress stage of the laying out of the round molding design onto the square backing. 
An earlier work-in-progress stage of rough laying out of the profile and corner designs onto the square; 
This is the stage I as a sculptor truly dislike- as models are so rough and poorly proportioned, but in short order with more modelling time and refinement on the clay, you can see how the lady went from a "run over by a bus" appearance to the beautiful lass she is in the finished work at the top of the page. History of the piece in my personal collection and commentary on these historic works in general "Elizabeth" my version of this profile design was inspired by an original 1888 panel salvaged from a building on 120th St and Park Ave, NYC. The building was built 1888 and had a frieze panel with the name "ELIZABETH" on it as well as another panel with the year of construction- 1888 The original was probably made by the major company that supplied much of these to architects in New York City- The Atlantic Terra Cotta Co on Staten Island. It was hand pressed clay, fired in a huge kiln heated by dirty coal, it was then transported to the building by ship up the Hudson River from the factory, and then completed its voyage on the back of a wagon pulled by horses. Once installed, she looked down on the street for decades, dirty coal soot from coal burning back then quickly permanently stained building facades, especially the unglazed terra cotta like this. Whom the lady depicted in this obvious portrait sculpture was, is unknown beyond her name, I long assumed it to be the original building owner's wife or mother, due to the young age of the portrait I would lean towards the wife as being the sitting live model for the sculpture. By around the 1910s these tenement buildings were no longer built, and with their demise also went a considerable amount of these keystones and other Victorian era ornaments that were designed to decorate these small buildings. Soon, with architects like Sullivan, Wright and others came the more streamlined facades, the Art Deco period, taller, wider and having only accents here and there on the facade, and finally the entire architectural terra cotta industry as it existed- over 100 companies built up solely around the concept of decorating building facades- were largely gone and defunct by WWll
The sculpture is a wall hanging piece and comes with a bar hook embedded in the back. It really is a charming and very interesting piece. SIZE: Nominal 22" square 3-1/2 to 4" deep.
Designs by Randall
The clay models shown in my various work in progress photos are not reproduced and molded off of existing antique pieces.
These hand sculpted models are created from scratch by Randall in water based clay, and typically take an average of 20-30 hours to set up, layout and sculpt each master model. When the clay models are finished, they are permanently captured with silicone mold compounds which can pick up even a fingerprint and faithfully transfer it to a cast made in it. From the molds, interior cast-stone as well as concrete sculptures are made available for clients to purchase. Existing savaged pieces are limited to what happens to be for sale at high prices, often damaged, rarely found in pairs and being typically large in scale (meant to be seen from the street from 5 floors below) they are difficult to display in today's smaller homes and apartments. Instead of making molds of these pieces, Randall creates new original models based on authentic 19th century and early 20th century Victorian, Art Deco and Louis Sullivan style architectural sculptures. While I do have a small number of older designs directly molded from antique pieces, these are being phased out over time as I create my own original models.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE:
Designs in the Urban Sculptures Collection are
copyright, this includes reproductions of
antique pieces upon which I made certain modifications, alterations or
changes- the changes are copyright. I do not sell molds, nor casts for
others to replicate. I reserve
the right to decline sales to anyone.
Original clay models by Randall (and casts made from them) all carry my impressed model numbers, paw-print logo, date of creation,
signature casting number date are inscribed by hand on the
back of every cast.
General information applicable to all of my sculptures
My standard cast-stone is for INTERIOR OR UNDER A COVERED PORCH ONLY! Out in the garden they might last 4 or 5 years, maybe longer before showing weather damage.
If you are looking for something for the garden or to build into a wall, I offer concrete as a special order item which takes approx 3 weeks. Not all pieces are available in concrete. All of my sculptures have a heavy wire embedded on the back to hang them on the wall.
FINISHES AVAILABLE
I offer several different finishes. The suggested default finish for each is shown in the ordering menu for each sculpture.
They vary from piece to piece, and actual colors displayed on your monitor will vary as well. The samples below now include the 2 available concrete stains.
SHIPPING
I use FEDEX ground service for all shipments in the lower 48 states. I do not ship outside the USA. Pallet shipping via truck is also available for larger quantities.
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