Bronze
10½” H × 8” W
Limited Edition

This bronze maquette represents one of the Mississippi Guardian Birds, a series of sculptures created as part of Doug Freeman’s public work along the Mississippi River. The birds serve as symbolic guardians of the river landscape, reflecting its movement, vitality, and enduring presence.

Measuring 10½ inches tall and 8 inches across, the maquette captures the gesture and character of the figure while allowing Freeman to study the form in preparation for the larger sculptures. Cast as a limited edition in bronze, it stands as both a sculptural study and a finished work of art, embodying the spirit of the original installation.

The process for the Mississippi Guardian Birds began with small clay studies, sketches, and research, which led to the development of this maquette. From there, a full-scale enlargement was created in foam, allowing Freeman to refine the form at a larger size. A mold was then made to produce a wax version for the bronze casting process. A similar approach was used for the pieces at the Decorah Fish Hatchery, while other works in Freeman’s practice were developed full scale in clay over a steel armature.

Bronze
25” H × 21” W

This bronze maquette was created as part of the design process for The Lion’s Fountain. While developing the fountain, Doug Freeman produced a small maquette that was placed directly into the site model to explore the relationship between the sculpture, the water, and the surrounding space.

This larger maquette was made to study the lion itself—its gesture, balance, and overall composition. At 25 inches tall with a 21-inch span across the forearms, the piece allowed Freeman to refine the form and character of the figure before scaling the sculpture to its final monumental size.

Like many of Freeman’s working models, the maquette is both a design tool and a finished sculpture in its own right, capturing the energy and presence that would ultimately shape the completed fountain.