Earlier this month we learned of the death of noted Rhode Island sculptor Armand M. LaMontagne. Many of his life-sized bronze and wooden sculptures honored sports figures like Babe Ruth, Larry Bird, Bobby Orr, and Carl Yastrzemski. Over time he had created three of the incredible Red Sox left fielder Ted Williams, one of which is on display in Cooperstown.
Roger Williams University made note of the artist’s passing with a nod to the unique contribution he had made to the campus and Rhode Island lore. A few decades ago, the school decided to commission a statue of its namesake, but ran into one problem: There are no known likenesses of Roger Williams.
“There wasn’t even a contemporary who had described him,” LaMontagne told editor Sarah Cournoyer ’09 in her article “The Birth of Roger Statue.” “Kapstein [LaMontagne’s agent] and I did some research and even looked at many known ancestors, but none had a distinctive common feature.”
So, what did LaMontagne do? He drew inspiration from another Williams he was familiar with sculpting: Red Sox legend Ted Williams, whose statue resides at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Yes, the face of our Roger Williams statue is modeled after a local sports hero.
I have been this telling story for a while now. I’m thrilled to find out it was actually true.
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Whadya think?
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Note: I found that Cournoyer article pretty amusing. I believe the agent mentioned above is Providence native, and wildly successful, sports agent Jerry Kapstein.
Also: The New York Times ran this comprehensive obituary on March 30th. It includes several interesting photographs.