Brother Bryan -- Birmingham AL - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

Reverend James A. Bryan, better known as "Brother Bryan" (1863-1941), was well known throughout Alabama and Birmingham. As the pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church, he worked tirelessly to help the poor and homeless, and was also an early voice at the turn of the 20th century for racial reconciliation and civil rights for African-Americans.

In 1934 statue of brother Brian kneeling in prayer was commissioned by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), part of the New Deal Works Progress Administration. Proof that the statue was part of the PWAP is found on the statue itself: a small inscription on the side of the statue reads as follows:

GEORGES BRIDGES Sc. [scupltor -- BMB]
P.W.A.P.
1934.

At the base of the statue, a bronze open book was added after 1941 inscribed with some additional information about the subject the statue and proves up that this sculpture a work commissioned by the United States government:

"[L side] Erected by the
US government
and dedicated
by the citizens
of this city in 1934
during the lifetime
of
REV. JAMES A. BRYAN, D.D.
who was born
March 20, 1863
and died
January 28, 1941.

[R side]
beginning his ministry
as Pastor of the
Third Presbyterian Church
in June 1889, he served
that church and mankind
for over half a century.

Fervent in prayer,
consecrated life,
sympathetic and counsel,
friend of the friendless,
the sorrowing, the poor,
and the rich:
he went about doing good."

TITLE: Brother Bryan ARTIST(S): Georges Bridges DATE: 1934 MEDIUM: marble; stone: granite (base) CONTROL NUMBER: IAS AL000224 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: 20th Street S at the Five Points Intersection, Birmingham AL DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: none

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