James Peniston Sculpture, commissioned works in bronze

Photos

PHOTOS

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A big bust of Franklin draws a lot of attention from passersby.

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

Use These Photos

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

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