Here's a trivia question for the next weekly campus events email: What do baseball slugger Mark McGwire, American explorer Meriwether Lewis, playwright Tennessee Williams and St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa's dog have in common? The answer: The likeness of each has been expertly enshrined in bronze by prizewinning sculptor Harry Weber '64.
In addition to the four works listed above, Weber has crafted over 90 large and more than 200 smaller pieces, according to his website, harryweber.com. Many of those sculptures now belong in private collections, such as the 24-inch statue of La Russa's dog Res that Weber created for the longtime skipper in recognition of his service to animals.
Some of Weber's work, though, is on display around the country and abroad.
"As an artist, I'm very fortunate that I have a lot of my stuff in public spaces — I guess about 90 or 100 things, so I've been very, very lucky," Weber said.
Weber's art has been featured in venues such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Newport, R.I., the National Dog Museum and even the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Though he has sculpted animals, famous historical figures and other assorted subjects, Weber especially enjoys his work with athletically themed pieces.
"I'm a big fan of movement," Weber said. "Since sports generally involves a lot of movement, I've done a lot of sports figures. I've always been fascinated with the way the human body expresses itself and human facial features, so as a sculptor I've always been interested in sports."
Perhaps Weber's best-known work is the collection of sculptures he created for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1997 to 2004. Weber's series of 10 five-foot statues of Cardinal greats — depicting each of St. Louis' Hall of Famers in various poses from firing a pitch to sliding into a base — currently stand outside Busch Stadium.
An 11th statue, depicting McGwire, was commissioned and finished but has yet to be displayed.
In fact, Weber estimates that only a half-dozen people have ever laid eyes on the final version.
"[The sculpture] is not likely to be seen until [McGwire] gets to the Hall of Fame or until the Cardinals decide to exhibit it in some other venue," Weber said. "It belongs to the Cardinals. They commissioned it back when it was deemed a sure thing that McGwire was going to be in the Hall."
McGwire was not elected to the Hall of Fame on the 2007 ballot, his first year of eligibility, almost certainly because of his alleged involvement with steroids, and the Cardinals prefer to install statues only of Hall of Famers. Bruce Sutter, a star St. Louis reliever in the 1970s and 1980s, was the most recent Cardinal elected to the Hall, in 2006.
"I'm not sure if [the Cardinals] are going to [commission a sculpture] of Bruce Sutter soon," Weber said. "Of course, McGwire is still a possibility, and without a doubt I think [current Cardinals star Albert] Pujols will end up [in the Hall of Fame] when he finishes his career."
Weber grew up in St. Louis as a Cardinals fan following the departure of the St. Louis Browns to Baltimore, but he also played baseball and was a member of the freshman team during his first year at Princeton, albeit only briefly.
"I was a catcher," Weber said. "I was probably a terrible hitter but a pretty good catcher. It was enjoyable, and we certainly took it seriously."
Unfortunately, Weber was injured early in his first season, and he had to give up playing the sport. Still, Weber was able to show his appreciation for baseball and for all sports by other means.
"I've drawn and sculpted probably every kind of sports figure there is, not because I love any particular sport, but generally I just enjoy the whole idea of what the human body is able to do after training and perseverance and dedication," Weber said.
Though Weber has done work for a number of universities, including St. Louis, Missouri and Baylor, he has yet to be approached by Old Nassau with a commission for one of his expertly crafted sculptures. Weber, for his part, says he would love to have his work displayed at his alma mater.
Given the University's reputation as the site of many bizarre, occasionally unsightly sculptures, one of Weber's lifelike, expressive and, most importantly, non-abstract works would be welcomed.
After all, La Russa's dog had his day, and it's about time Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel's dog Skipper had his, too.
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