James Peniston Sculpture, commissioned works in bronze

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PHOTOS

Closeup of clay original of 'Keys To Community,' a bronze sculpture of Ben Franklin for downtown Philadelphia

arrow up to photo Closeup of Ben's face in clay.

Molten bronze is poured at Laran Bronze in Chester for the first stages of casting of 'Keys To Community,' a bronze sculpture of Ben Franklin for downtown Philadelphia

arrow up to photo On July 7, 2007, the first of more than one ton of bronze was poured for the sculpture, which was cast using the lost-wax process at Laran Bronze in Chester, Pa. Firefighters from Philadelphia and Chester dropped brass nameplates into the molten metal, an act of remembrance of fallen colleagues across four centuries of service. City representatives added a few pennies collected in 1971 for the Penny Franklin project.

More than 300 people turned out for the Oct. 5 unveiling of  'Keys To Community,' a bronze sculpture of Ben Franklin for downtown Philadelphia: city dignitaries, firefighters, family, neighbors, media, tourists, passersby.

arrow up to photo On Oct. 5, 2007, more than 300 people turned out for the unveiling of Keys To Community: city dignitaries, firefighters, family, neighbors, media, tourists, passersby. Even Ralph Archbold, Philly's best-known Ben Franklin impersonator was there to praise the sculpture and lead the crowd in three "huzzahs!"

Keys To Community, a bronze sculpture by James Peniston of Ben Franklin in downtown Philadelphia.

arrow up to photo Keys To Community, in morning light.

The ceremony was followed by  cheesesteaks in the pocket park behind 'Keys To Community,' a bronze sculpture of Ben Franklin in downtown Philadelphia.

arrow up to photo The ceremony was followed by cheesesteaks in the pocket park behind the sculpture.

A closeup of some of the 1,000-plus keys cast into the surface of 'Keys To Community,' a bronze sculpture of Ben Franklin in downtown Philadelphia.

arrow up to photo A closeup of some of the 1,000-plus keys donated by schoolchildren and cast into the surface of the sculpture.

Passersby gawk at 'Keys To Community,' a bronze sculpture of Ben Franklin in downtown Philadelphia.

arrow up to photo A big bust of Franklin draws a lot of attention from passersby.

In the early morning, Ben has Arch Street to himself: 'Keys To Community,' a bronze sculpture of Ben Franklin in downtown Philadelphia.

arrow up to photo In the early morning, Ben has Arch Street to himself.

Use These Photos

Creative Commons License The 450-pixel-wide images directly above, and the specific representations of Keys To Community they contain, are released under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License. Essentially, you may use them if you attribute them to "James Peniston Sculpture."

It would be nice to hear where you're using them, and if it's on the Web, a link back to this site would be appreciated. Want bigger images? Drop a line to info (AT) jepsculpture.com.

Contact

Send email to: james AT jepsculpture.com
Copyright © 2000-2018 James Peniston

Work

Keys to Community, a 2007 bronze sculpture by James Peniston. Girard Fountain Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Colliding Masses, a 2001 fiberglass sculpture by James Peniston. Artist's collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Gregor Mendel, a 1998 bronze sculpture by James Peniston. Villanova University near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania George's Head, a 2002 bronze sculpture by James Peniston. Artist's collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hunter, a 2000 bronze sculpture by James Peniston. Private collection, near St. Louis, Missouri Family Discovering Nature, a 2005 bronze sculpture by James Peniston. Private collection, St. Louis, Missouri Water, a 1998 bronze sculpture by James Peniston. Private collection, St. Louis, Missouri Motivic, a 2001 clay sculpture by James Peniston. Artist's collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Hades & Antigone, a 2003 clay sculpture by James Peniston. Artist's collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania