I removed a carved keystone from a pair of abandoned tenement buildings located at 308 West 145th Street in the Harlem section of Manhattan when I was 16, my daily salvage logs show that I removed some of the existing 16 keystones (some were damaged by fire) in Sept and Oct 1976. Here is a photo of the building from 1976, poor exposure, poor instamatic 126 film and it was taken at just around sunrise but it's the only photo I was able to take, this building was 7 MILES away from where I lived with my parents by Washington Square Park so I never went back;

What is there NOW, the entire block is levelled to the ground in the satellite view, the red box is exactly over the street light which can be seen in the above photo quite clearly;

The keystones followed a theme- bearded men with various hats, this one has a soft hat I do not recognize but another keystone had an obvious cowboy style hat.
The keystone depicts an atypical figure for these architectural sculptures, typically these depicted mythical or fantasy figures, Gods from Greek and Roman mythology; (Mercury, Zeus, Apollo, Athena, Venus, Pan etc) grotesques, beasts and so forth. This sculpture however is a rarer depiction apparently done from real life portraiture, if not of a specific individual in the sculptors life, then at the very least a compilation of several persons likely known to the sculptor.

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 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.

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.

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.

Cast-stone, from a stunning original architectural sculpture.

Randall's Urban Sculptures