Cropsey Angel

This sculpture of the Archangel Michael by Frederick Hart, sc. is displayed above the entrance to the Newington Cropsey Museum in Hastings-On-Hudson, New York. Hart is the noted sculptor of the three soldiers at the Vietnam Memorial and the Ex Nihilo, the central tympanum of the National Cathedral, the largest work of sculpture of the 20th century.

Statue of Congressman John Lewis

The bronze statue of Congressman John Lewis by Gregory Johnson, sc. will be on display in Rodney Cook, Sr. Peace Park in Atlanta. Congressman Lewis participated in the creation of this work, and upon completion, made the remark that he thought he was looking in a mirror. John Lewis is among the most iconic statesmen of America. Afforded the honor of being the first African American to lie-in-state in the United States Capitol and the Georgia Capitol after his death. A trusted lieutenant of Martin Luther King, Jr., he was badly beaten during the Civil Rights Movement and rose to become Congressman of the 5th District of Georgia and a global peace advocate of the highest order for the remainder of his life. He was a great ambassador of peace for the State of Georgia and his oratory at the dedication of the Millennium Gate Georgia History Museum still stands today as some of the most beautiful words ever spoken in the State of Georgia.

Statue of Chief Tomochichi

Chief Tomochichi of the Yamacraw (Creek Nation) is considered Georgia’s co-founder with General James Oglethorpe. Chief Tomochichi peacefully greeted General Oglethorpe and the British Colonists when they landed at Yamacraw Bluff in 1732 (present day Savannah, GA) rather than massacre them as was being done elsewhere along the coast. This began a 300-year tradition of peace in Georgia. Tomochichi was the only Native American chief to be afforded the rank of King by the British Monarchy. He and his entourage were invited to London and received by King George II at an elaborate banquet in his honor at Kensington Palace. Mims Park was Atlanta’s first integrated park, designed by Olmsted Brothers, and featured a prominent statue of Chief Tomochichi. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. lived adjacent to this park and wrote that his ministry stood on the broad shoulders of Tomochichi. The Honorable Rodney Mims Cook, Sr. Peace Park recreates the park and evokes the Olmsted plan. It will feature this 20’ tall bronze statue of Chief Tomochichi sculpted by Stan Mullins, which will top the Peace Column.

Bust of George Washington

This bust of President George Washington by George Kelly, sc. is on display at the Millennium Gate Museum. George Kelly is a sculptor-in-residence at the Supreme Court of the United States. He chose to portray Washington as Cincinatus, the Roman general offered a crown for saving Rome, which he refused, preferring to return to his farm.

Peace and Justice Gate

The Peace and Justice statues were sculpted by Alexander Stoddart, sc. and flank the Millennium Gate Museum in Atlanta. Stoddart is the official sculptor to Queen Elizabeth II. The Peace and Justice Gate won the 2006 Palladio Award for the best new public space in the United States. The statue of Peace represents Greece, the statue of Justice represents Egypt, and they form an ensemble with the Millennium Gate Arch in between them, which represents Rome, the cultural foundation of the Western world.

Bust of Justice Lewis Powell

The bust of Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell is by George Kelly, sc. It was commissioned by NMF president, Rodney Cook, to be displayed at Washington & Lee University Law School, where Justice Powell’s papers reside. A marble likeness is in the collection of the United States Supreme Court.

Prince of Wales’s Olympics Monument Sculpture

The 5 bronze Atlas figures were sculpted by Dick Reid, sc. of York, England in collaboration with CherryLion Studios of Atlanta. They stand atop the Prince of Wales’s World Athletes Monument to the Olympic Games at Pershing Point in Midtown Atlanta. They hold a globe aloft, which has a beam representing the Earth’s core projecting from the center.

Bust of George Plimpton

This bust of noted American author George Plimpton by George Kelly, sc. was commissioned by Rodney Cook/NMF. Three additional copies were made for the Newington Cropsey Museum, the Paris Review, and Elaine's Restaurant. The primary work of art was produced for the Newington Cropsey Museum Research Library. The Newington Cropsey Museum houses the largest collection of Hudson River School Paintings in the world. The Newington Cropsey library collection compliments its magazine, American Arts Quarterly, and has original manuscripts of the following 19th century authors: Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, Washington Irving, William Cullen Bryant, Edith Wharton, Emma Lazarus, Julia Ward Howe, Dorothy Parker, Henry James, O. Henry, Thomas Paine, James Fenimore Cooper, among others.

George Plimpton was the champion of 20th century men and women of letters and his Paris Review launched many careers including Ernest Hemingway, William Styron, Truman Capote, Jay McInerny, Peter Mathieson, and Bret Easton Ellis among many others. It was for this body of work, done primarily through the Paris Review, that made George Plimpton one of the most powerful literary figures of 20th century America. His inclusion in the Newington Cropsey Research Library was intentional to carry on this Hudson River Valley tradition of great Americans of letters linked to great American Hudson River Painters. A copy was made for the noted writer’s restaurant enclave, Elaine’s, in New York City. Elaine’s became the latter 20th century’s version of the Algonquin Round Table. The Plimpton artwork was placed on a corbel above “Mr. Plimpton’s table” in homage to his early life-changing experience in Havana, when he interviewed Ernest Hemingway at Hemingway’s favorite restaurant (bar). Hemingway’s bust also resided above his table.

Millennium Henge

The Millennium Henge by Edwina Sandys, sc. is proposed to be displayed in the new Bellwood Quarry Park in Atlanta. The henge is made out of white Georgia marble and black Georgia granite symbolizing the 150-year tradition of The Atlanta Way, a custom whereby the predominantly black, white, and Jewish communities have worked together to keep the city peaceful. Human figure portals are cut through the massive stone plinths as gateways showcasing Atlanta’s tradition of peaceful aspiration.