Bailey Island Lobsterman
by Guy Whiteley
Title
Bailey Island Lobsterman
Artist
Guy Whiteley
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
At the southern tip of Bailey Island, in a place called Land’s End, kneels a lone lobsterman, cast from bronze and placed atop a large cement stand. Green with age, this sculpture seems almost to have sprung from the landscape, from the craggy stones and spiky grasses of Harpswell. He looks like he’s been here forever, handling the same glaucous lobster claw for centuries, not decades.
The dignified lobsterman is actually one of several replicas of Portland sculptor Victor Kahill’s original piece, created in 1939 for the New York World’s Fair. Other lobstermen stand watch in locations as far flung as Washington D.C., and as close to home as Casco Square in Portland. But the Bailey Island Lobsterman is uniquely suited to Harpswell; the model for this sculpture, H. Elroy Johnson, learned his trade off the shores of Bailey Island. He spent the rest of his life as a fisherman, earning his living from the waters of Casco Bay until his death at the age of 79 in 1973.
According to documents from the time, Johnson was a proud lobsterman and an outspoken advocate for fishermen’s interests. Once well known throughout the state, Johnson is now immortalized in a proud act of labor: putting a plug in the claw of a freshly caught lobster. On the base below, a plaque reads, “A memorial to all Maine fishermen who have devoted their lives to the sea.” (courtesy www.themainemag.com)
Uploaded
October 22nd, 2015
Statistics
Viewed 2,329 Times - Last Visitor from Toronto, ON - Canada on 04/24/2024 at 10:08 PM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet
Similar Images
Comments (1)
Recently Viewed
