Boy on a Dolphin

The noteworthy Turtle Boy statue, located at the corner of Front and Franklin, was recently featured on Claudia's website, but there is also a lesser known (and much more difficult to view) statue of the Boy on a Dolphin, here in Worcester...

I had to drive around the block twice this morning, looking for a close spot to park the car, run up and get the pictures, and split...

As you can see, this statue is in the courtyard behind One Chestnut Place.

It's accessible on foot from Elm Street on the courtyard level, just before Chestnut, and also from the other side on Pearl Street via a flight of stairs up to the courtyard.

There are parking spots on Pearl Street, and also a handful of parking spots at the beginning of Elm, but there were no empty spaces for me this morning...

So, I parked it right before the back entrance on Elm, turned on the four-way flashers, and crossed my fingers.

(You can click on any of these pictures for a larger view.)

There is also the Pearl-Elm parking garage which is close to Main Street with access from either Pearl Street or Elm Street (hence, the imaginative name).

Interestingly enough, there's another statue just like this one in Rochester, Minnesota. I found that webpage while surfing around for info about this statue.

Unfortunately, there's a band called "boy on a dolphin" and there's also the 1957 film introducing Sophia Loren, which is also called "boy on a dolphin" ...which balloons the search results out to tens of thousands of hits.

Although hardly as risque as the Turtle Boy, this work of art is, nonetheless, anatomically correct and provides a clear view for anyone looking out the window from the Chestnut Cafe. I'm told that many people have asked why they can't just put a bathing suit on that boy...

Although the statue in Rochester, Minnesota appears to be cast from some other metal than the obvious copper that Worcester's Boy on a Dolphin is made from, they both appear to be the exact same depiction. Which, of course, only piques my curiosity about the origin of this work.

I have never been particularly interested in statuary. My only clear memory of this statue is from around the mid-1970's when my brother in law called it to my attention. At that time, I thought it was odd that I'd never even heard of it, since it's such a wonderful work of art. I also thought it was odd that it wasn't located somewhere that people could more easily discover it.

I had forgotten all about it until sometime last year when I brought a customer to that location, and spotted it. I remember saying, "Hey! There's the Boy on a Dolphin statue!" And my customer said something to the effect of, "...that thing should be covered up!"

Well, considering the cloistered location, it's as good as covered up.

Looking at it from this angle, though, really tells the tale of artistry and the power of this image.

This is the stuff that dreams are made of, where freedom is a sense of unbounded exhilaration and life is such an incredible adventure that you just can't believe how much beauty there really is in this world.

Update: Roger Leduc e-mailed me to provide this link to information about the artist.