Thursday, October 27, 2011

One of My Favorite Statues - The Frontier Marshal

There is a great piece of art located at the United States Marshals National Memorial in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

The statue is called "The Frontier Marshal."

Until recently, I didn't know what the full story was behind the statue. 

This is from the website of the U.S. Marshals Service. I hope that you're as impressed with this piece of work as much as I am.

For the commemoration of the Bicentennial of the Marshals Service, a larger-than-life bronze sculpture, it is titled the "Frontier Marshal."

It was donated to the Marshals Service by famed leathersmith John Bianchi, who is a member of the original U.S. Marshals foundation Board of Directors and founder of Bianchi International which is a holster and sporting equipment manufacturer.

"The frontier era in which the Marshals Service gained such renown occurred in about the halfway point of our 200 plus year history," said former Marshals Service Director Stanley E. Morris in 1986 when the statue was dedicated to the U.S. Marshals Service.

He went on to say, "The sculpture thus seems a fitting symbol of the dedication of Marshals and their Deputies during those two centuries, and reminds us of the self-sacrifice and dangers so often associated with upholding the law."

The 10-foot tall work of art was created by Dave Manuel of Joseph, Oregon, a widely acclaimed painter and sculptor of western themes.

The bronze portrays a confident, very dignified U.S. Marshal.  In one hand, he holds a 10 gallon hat and what appear to be court papers.  The other hand rests on his gun belt, as his long duster is blown back just far enough to reveal the pistol in the holster on the gun belt.

His face in the wind, looking into the distance, he'd do the big job ahead of him.


Sculptor Dave Manuel and the "Frontier Marshal"

(Left to right) William E. Hall, former Director of the Marshals Service; K.M. Moore, former Director of the Marshals Service; John Bianchi, former member of U.S. Marshals foundation Board of Directors; Stanley e. Morris, former Director of the Marshals Service; and artist Dave Manuel participated in the ceremony which dedicated the U.S. Marshals National Memorial. The program included the unveiling of the bronze sculpture.


Story by Tom Correa

6 comments:

  1. How about telling us WHERE the statue is located.

    ReplyDelete
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  4. Is John Bianchi still alive and what is he doing now if so? What year was the statue donated? I would love to know more since all this sounds very interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I plan on making a movie called, "The Frontier Marshal" that takes place in Indian Territory and Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1887. I will play the role of U.S. Marshal Wesley Briggs who is responsible for the apprehension and arrests of each and every criminal between Indian Territory and Fort Smith. And Tom, I was thinking about putting YOU in the film as Tom Holbrook, a veteran lawman. In the movie, Wesley Briggs is forced to avenge the death of U.S. Marshal John Reese, who was ambushed and killed by the outlaw Red Moran. This is very personal since Reese was Wesley's friend and the one who gave him his job. He goes after Red Moran and he will stop at nothing to catch him. He is assisted by William "Dutch" Brooks and Tom Holbrook, who has been a marshal himself. But will they find Red Moran in time? See the movie to find out. And as always, wish me luck.

    ReplyDelete

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