Artwork


Prairie Formation


Prairie Formation

Artwork

When Topeka artist James Bass (b. 1933) created this welded bronze piece, he said he was endeavoring “to reconcile the visual landscape of the 20th century with the textures and forms of the Kansas landscape.”

The piece, 7 feet 2 inches tall and almost 4 feet wide, was donated by the Pi Deuteron chapter of Phi Gamma Delta to commemorate its centennial May 2, 1981.

Phog Allen


Phog Allen

A dusting of snow on the Phog Allen statue with Booth Hall in the background
Artwork

This bronze of KU coaching great Forrest C. “Phog” Allen, dressed in an athlete’s sweatsuit and holding a basketball, is 8 feet 8 inches tall.

It is mounted facing east on a granite base at the entrance to the Booth Family Hall of Athletics on the east side of Allen Fieldhouse. The fieldhouse was named for Allen when it opened March 1, 1955; he retired in 1956 and died in 1974. 

When it was dedicated Dec. 13, 1997 -- the 90th anniversary of the first basketball game Allen coached at KU -- it was sited slightly farther north and faced south.

Oregon Trail Marker


Oregon Trail Marker

A close-up of the bronze medallion and plaque on the Oregon Trail Marker
Artwork

The bronze medallion of this marker, 16.5 inches in diameter, bears the image of a conestoga wagon pulled by oxen and guided by a pioneer.

The work of sculptors J.E. and L.G. Fraser, it is mounted outside Lindley Hall on a limestone plinth about 4 feet tall and nearly 6 feet long. The whole is surrounded by a low ovoid stone wall; plantings and a flagpole complete the marker.

Moses


Moses

o	Shadowed outline of Elden C. Tefft’s “Moses” sculpture in front of Smith Hall’s Burning Bush stained glass window
Artwork

This filigreed bronze, evoking the image on the University seal, was planned to complement the stained-glass window “Burning Bush,” designed by Smith Hall architect Charles L. Marshall of Topeka.

Memorial Campanile Doors of Memory and Doors of Kansas


Memorial Campanile Doors of Memory and Doors of Kansas

Close-up of KU Campanile door sculptures
Artwork

Bernard "Poco" Frazier (1906-76) was a 1929 design graduate who in the early 1940s established the first KU classes in sculpture; he left the university for a number of years but returned in 1956 as sculptor-in-residence and later professor of sculpture. The bronze doors at the north and south entrances of the Memorial Campanile were dedicated June 6, 1955.

Malott Gateway


Malott Gateway

Artwork

Robert H. Malott and his wife, Elizabeth Hubert Malott, donated $1 million to create this gateway on the western edge of the main campus in honor of his parents, former Chancellor Deane W. Malott and Eleanor Sisson Malott.

It comprises a curved, 70-foot stone wall engraved "University of Kansas" and a marker reading “Malott Gateway.” A brick pedestrian plaza is landscaped with trees and shrubs.

Lindley Hall Relief Sculptures


Lindley Hall Relief Sculptures

side entrance to Lindley Hall with relief sculptures above the doors
Artwork

Elements of Art Moderne and Art Deco combine on the facade of Lindley Hall. Two three-story columns mark the main entry, and three inset limestone bas-reliefs of geologists and engineers are executed in a socialist-realist style.

Jayhawk/Academic Jay


Jayhawk/Academic Jay

Jayhawk/Academic Jay statue outside Strong Hall
Artwork

This distinctive Jayhawk in front of Strong Hall was commissioned by the Class of 1956 and designed and cast by Elden C. Tefft, professor of sculpture. He has said he was inspired by the sharp-beaked “fighting Jayhawks” that were mascots from 1929 to 1946, but the statue also has been called “the Pterodactyl.”

Icarus


Icarus

Icarus in front of Raymond Nichols Hall
Artwork

The sculpture, mounted on a black-granite base at the southeast entrance to Nichols Hall in the West District, is drawn from the Greek myth of Daedalus and his son. Icarus.

Green Memorial / 'Uncle Jimmy' Green


Green Memorial / 'Uncle Jimmy' Green

The Green Memorial, also known as the “Uncle Jimmy” statue, stands in front of Lippincott Hall on Jayhawk Boulevard and features James Woods Green mentoring a student
Artwork

James Woods Green (1842-1919) was the beloved first head of the KU Department of Law and the first dean when it became the School of Law in 1889; he served from 1878 until his death Nov. 4, 1919. A group of alumni and friends quickly formed an association to create a statue in memory of the beloved teacher and mentor.

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