A seven-foot sculpture of Brigham Young will greet visitors to the restored Brigham Young Academy Building when it opens as the Provo City Library at Academy Square in the spring of 2001. A plaque at the base of the statue will detail the Academy’s history.
To help with expenses for the heroic-sized artwork by Utah sculptor Dee Jay Bawden, the Brigham Young Academy Foundation is offering 50 limited-edition bronzes of the statue to interested alumni and friends. Each 18-inch statue will cost $4,000.
For L. Douglas Smoot, professor of chemical engineering and president of the Academy project, the statue is a fitting tribute to the second LDS prophet.
“We like the historical nature of this statue, and we think it is a fine artistic piece,” he says. “When the Academy was founded in 1875, Brigham Young was within two years of his death, and this statue is age appropriate. We see the prophet with a beard, cane, and capeabout the age he would have been when the school was dedicated.”
Additionally, the foundation is offering an 18-by-24-inch poster of Academy Square printed from an original painting by Jacque Baker. A limited-edition print with the artist’s signature is available for $70; an unsigned poster costs $40. Postcards and note cards of the painting are also available.
For more information, or to order by phone, contact the Alumni Association at (801) 378-6755 or (toll free) 1-800-437-4663. Mail orders should be directed to Brigham Young Alumni Services, Alumni House, Provo, UT 84602-1016, attention Nancy Ostergar.
