Last updated: April 6, 2021
Place
"The Lowell Sculptures: One, Two, and Three" Sculptures
NPS
Quick Facts
Location:
Boarding House Park (Corner of French and John Streets), Lowell, Massachusetts
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
These three pieces are derived from Lowell's industrial symbols. They are intended to be objects for seating and climbing, functioning as a kind of furniture as well as visual art.
Sculpture One is a six-ton silhouette of Francis Cabot Lowell (1774-1817), the early textile manufacturer for whom the city is named. Sculpture Two is a tipped, mammoth, granite thread spool mounted on a granite base, which can also be seen as a spindle or beehive, symbolizing hard work and industry. Sculpture Three is a saw-toothed horizontal piece that might be the roofline of a boardinghouse or factory, or, perhaps, gears belonging to textile machinery. The ten-foot high spindle or smokestack is located near the entrance to the Boott Cotton Mills and emulates its red-brick chimney. The Lowell Sculptures was the winner of a nationwide design competition.
Connecticut artist Robert Cumming is a painter, photographer, and printmaker, as well as a sculptor. His works rank among the collections of major American art museums, including the Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. In 1984 he was one of ten artists invited to document the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Site: Boarding House Park, corner of French and John Streets
Artists: Robert Cumming
Materials: Granite, Brick, and Steel
Sculpture One is a six-ton silhouette of Francis Cabot Lowell (1774-1817), the early textile manufacturer for whom the city is named. Sculpture Two is a tipped, mammoth, granite thread spool mounted on a granite base, which can also be seen as a spindle or beehive, symbolizing hard work and industry. Sculpture Three is a saw-toothed horizontal piece that might be the roofline of a boardinghouse or factory, or, perhaps, gears belonging to textile machinery. The ten-foot high spindle or smokestack is located near the entrance to the Boott Cotton Mills and emulates its red-brick chimney. The Lowell Sculptures was the winner of a nationwide design competition.
Connecticut artist Robert Cumming is a painter, photographer, and printmaker, as well as a sculptor. His works rank among the collections of major American art museums, including the Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. In 1984 he was one of ten artists invited to document the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Site: Boarding House Park, corner of French and John Streets
Artists: Robert Cumming
Materials: Granite, Brick, and Steel