Boy Scout - Ann Arbor, Michigan
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member GT.US
N 42° 15.524 W 083° 41.678
17T E 277735 N 4682019
This statue of a boy scout is outside the Great Sauk Trail Headquarters building in Ann Arbor.
Waymark Code: WM3CR7
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 03/16/2008
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member GA Cacher
Views: 29

The plaque reads:
"The volunteer leaders of the Wolverine Council dedicate this statue in tribute to the Professional Career executives of the Boy Scouts of America. Their dedication to the principles of scouting influence the lives of countless American youth.
Dr. R. Taft McKenzie Sculptor 1927"

The SMithsonian inventory of outdoor sculpture at (visit link) tells us

Artist: McKenzie, R. Tait, 1867-1938, sculptor.

Title: The Boy Scout, (sculpture).

Other Titles: Ideal Boy Scout, (sculpture).

Dates: Original cast 1937. Dedicated 1980.

Medium: Sculpture: bronze; Base: brick.

Dimensions: Sculpture: approx. H. 6 ft. 2 in.; Base: approx. 5 in. x 3 ft. 2 in. x 3 ft. 2 in.

Inscription: (On self base:) R. Tait McKenzie 1937 (On plaque on base:) The Volunteer Leaders of the Wolverine Council/dedicate this statue in tribute to the/Professional Career Executives of the/Boy Scouts of America./Their dedication to the principles of Scouting/influence the lives of countless American youth./Dr. R. Tait McKenzie Sculptor-1937 signed

Description: Standing figure of a Boy Scout in uniform, including scarf, shorts, knee socks and hiking boots. He holds his hat to his chest with his proper right hand. His proper left hand is on a hatchet which hangs from a tool belt on his hip. The sculpture stands on a low rectangular base.

Owner: Boy Scouts of America, 1719 Huron Parkway, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106

Remarks: This work has been duplicated for more than thirty Boy Scout Council facilities across the country. The sculpture was originally created as a statuette in 1914 at the suggestion of Dr. Charles D. Hart, then president of the Philadelphia Council. Dr. McKenzie, also a Council member, presented the statuette and its copyright to the Philadelphia Council Executive Board on March 10, 1915. An updated, life-sized version which sold for $5,000 was created in 1937 for the opening of the Philadelphia Council's new headquarters building (IAS record 88320102). A total of five Boy Scouts posed for the statue between 1914 and 1937, and the final statue is a composite of its models. IAS files contain an excerpt from Scout Memorabilia, n.d., detailing history of Tait's Scout statues and related unpublished essay by Turner Moon.

Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: The Boy Scout

Figure Type: Human

Artist Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: Dr. R. Taft McKenzie

Date created or placed or use 'Unknown' if not known: 1927

Materials used: Bronze

Location: Great Sauk Trail Headquarters building

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