The Inspiration
Yosemite has been one of my favorite destinations since I was a child, and as homage to Muir, I felt inspired to sculpt him in bronze at that wondrous location. The statue is intended to picture Muir as he stands upon a cliff edge and looks out over the wonders of Yosemite Valley.
It was after my first climb to the top of Half Dome with my wife that I settled into what I felt would best represent John Muir. As I stood atop that high granite formation above the valley floor, I could only imagine how he would have felt being one of the first visitors to view the breathtaking magic that is Yosemite Valley.
When I had the piece cast in bronze, the foundry asked me about the edition number. At the time, I had originally intended it to be a one of a kind, but I thought there might be more people in the world who, like me, wanted to be reminded of John Muir daily; who wanted a tribute that said something about who they wanted to be associated with; a tribute that could spark conversation about the efforts and rewards earned for us all by this great man. So I decided on a limited edition of 21 pieces…yes, John Muir's birthday.
Testimonials
John Muir (1838-1914) was described during his lifetime as "John o' the mountains," a tribute to his passion as a naturalist for exploring, appreciating, and protecting the wildest places remaining in California. This bronze sculpture captures a special mountain moment in Muir's life and is a realistic life-like representation of Muir as we know him from photographs, descriptions by others, and his own self-reflections. Artist Will Pettee has energized Muir-the-mountaineer as he ponders the landscape before him. We can well imagine Muir saying to himself, "in every walk in Nature one receives far more than he seeks;" and "who wouldn't be a mountaineer! Up here all the world's prizes seem nothing."
Bill Swagerty
Director, John Muir Center
“I have been quite impressed with your sculptures of John Muir. The “Mountain Muir” sculpture not only accurately captures Muir’s appearance, it brings his image to life in a pose that represents the man of action that Muir embodied throughout his life. Your work and its attention to detail is a powerful tribute to Muir’s legacy, and is among the best artistic renderings of him that I have seen.”
Shan Sutton
Associate Dean and Head of Special Collections
University of the Pacific Library
(Home of the John Muir Papers)