Johnny Mercer

The Friends of Johnny Mercer gave me a photograph of Mercer taken in the 1930's at Columbus Circle in New York City. In the photograph he was looking down, but we decided to have him looking up so he could greet visitors with a smile as they approached him. He always had a smile and a welcoming personality so we wanted the sculpture to convey this image of him. I rented vintage clothing from Paramount Pictures in California that matched the clothing Mercer was wearing in the photograph to use with my model. I also located the company that makes NY City fire hydrants and had them send me one to use.