Make Way for Ducklings (sculpture)

Make Way for Ducklings is a sculpture by Nancy Schön, which recreates the duck family in Robert McCloskey's children's classic Make Way for Ducklings.

Make Way for Ducklings
The statues in Boston Public Garden, 2013
ArtistNancy Schön
Year1987 (1987) (original)
1991 (1991) (copy)[1]
LocationBoston; Moscow
Coordinates42°21′19.86″N 71°4′11.14″W

The original set of bronze statues was installed in the Boston Public Garden in 1987, and a copy was installed in Moscow at Novodevichy Park in 1991.

Boston

Make Way for Ducklings is installed in Boston Public Garden.[2] The tallest statue stands only 38 inches (97 cm) tall, and the caravan of bronze ducks set in Boston cobblestone spans 35 feet (10.67 m) from front to back. The statue, installed October 4, 1987,[3] was a tribute to Robert McCloskey "whose story ... has made the Boston Public Garden familiar to children throughout the world."[4] The Make Way for Ducklings sculpture is routinely dressed in outfits throughout the year, for various Boston sports teams, for events such as the Boston Marathon, and for holidays such as Mother's Day.[5]

The work was surveyed by the Smithsonian Institution's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in 1997.[2]

Moscow
The statues in Moscow's Novodevichy park.

A sculpture, similar to the original set in the Boston Public Garden, was erected in Novodevichy Park in Moscow as part of the START Treaty by Acton, Massachusetts landscape and construction company Capizzi & Co. Inc. on July 30, 1991. The equipment, statues, cobblestones, and workers were all flown by the US Air Force in a C-5 containing the heavy equipment, diesel fuel, and other assorted tools they would need. The individual statues, which were in total length, 40 feet (12 m) long, were presented by United States First Lady Barbara Bush to Russian First Lady Raisa Gorbachev as a gift to the children of the Soviet Union.[6] Four of the ducks were stolen, one in 1991 and three in February 2000. Thieves hoping to sell the ducks as scrap metal cut the statues off at the legs. The ducks were replaced in September 2000 at a rededication ceremony attended by former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev.[7][8]

References
  1. "Make Way for Diplomacy: How Boston's 'Ducklings' Helped Ease U.S.-Soviet Tensions". Archived from the original on 2019-12-29. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  2. "Make Way for Ducklings, (sculpture)". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  3. "The "Make Way for Ducklings" Statues Just Turned 30". 9 October 2017. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  4. "Make Way for Ducklings". schon.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  5. "BOS Today". bostoday.6amcity.com. 2023-05-11. Retrieved 2023-10-06.
  6. "Make Way for Ducklings, Moscow, by Nancy Schön". schön. Archived from the original on 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
  7. "Stolen duck statues restored in Moscow". CNN.com. 2000-09-18. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
  8. "Moscow Makes Way For New Ducklings - The Washington Post". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2019-12-29. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
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