Benjamin Franklin, "Father of the American Enlightenment"

Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790) one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman and diplomat, sculpted by Zenos Frudakis. Franklin was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics and noted for his experiments and discoveries regarding electricity. Among his many inventions, Franklin is highly known for lightning rod, bifocals and the Franklin stove. 

Monumental Sculpture / Portrait Statue
Size: 7-feet high
Media: Clay. Final to be cast in bronze.
Dedication: TBD
Location / Collection: TBD

More Information 

• Benjamin, Wikipedia

• Benjamin Franklin, Biography

• Benjamin Franklin Museum

• Benjamin Franklin, PBS

The Pennsylvania Gazette

My alumni magazine, The Pennsylvania Gazette, published an interview with me titled Sculpting a Life Story. Here are links to some of the sculptures featured in the article, as well as to the article itself.

Sculpting a Life Story
Download a PDF of the article >

Some of the sculptures in the article:

• Mike Schmidt

• Steve Carlton

• Robin Roberts

• Richie Ashburn

• Payne Stewart, Pinehurst

• Martin Luther King, Jr

• Thomas Paine

• Frederick Lay Olmsted

• Nina Simone

• W. Wilson Goode

• Frederick Douglass

• Ulysses S. Grant

• Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg

• Don McLean

• Mark Twain

• Freedom Sculpture

Charles Schwab

Charles Schwab, portrait statue

Charles R. Schwab, American investor and financial executive, founded his San Francisco-based firm in 1971 as a traditional brokerage company and became a pioneer in the discount brokerage business in 1974. Mr. Schwab gained an early advantage by offering a combination of low prices and fast, efficient order execution, quickly establishing himself as the nation’s largest discount broker. Today, the company ranks among the leading financial services firms in the United States and is headquartered in Westlake, Texas. Schwab delivers a full-service investing experience to clients through domestic offices, online platforms, and multilingual international offices. Additionally, Mr. Schwab serves as Chairman of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. and Charles Schwab Bank, and is a trustee of The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Investments, Schwab Capital Trust, and Schwab Annuity Portfolios, all registered investment companies.

Monumental Sculpture / Portrait Statue
Size: 8-feet high, 3-feet wide, 20-inches deep
Weight: 720 pounds
Installation: 2024
Media: Bronze
Collection: Charles Schwab Headquarters
Location: Charles Schwab Headquarters, Corporate Campus, Westlake, Texas

Margaret Sanger

Margaret Sanger

Margaret Higgins Sanger (September 14, 1879 – September 6, 1966) was an American birth control activist, sex educator, writer, and nurse. Sanger popularized the term "birth control", opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, and established organizations that evolved into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Relief Portrait Sculpture
Size: Bas-relief portrait
Media: Bronze
Created: 2023
Collection: Freedom from Religion Foundation
Location: FFRF Offices, Madison, Wisconsin

Related Links 

• Margaret Sanger, Wikipedia

• What Margaret Sanger Really Said About Eugenics and Race, Time Magazine

• American Experience, Margaret Sanger, PBS

Jack Kilby

Jack Kilby, portrait statue

Nobel prize winner, Jack Kilby (November 8, 1923 – June 20, 2005), is recognized for his patent in 1959 for the first integrated circuit, also known as the microchip. Jack Kilby’s work as an American electrical engineer at Texas Instruments also resulted in the first handheld calculator, the “Pocketronic,” as well as the invention of the first thermal printer. In December 10 of 2000, Kilby was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. Other honers include the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology. To honor Jack Kilby’s contributions to science and engineering, the portrait statue of Kilby holds a diagram of the integrated circuit in one hand, and a handheld calculator in the other.

Monumental Sculpture / Portrait Statue
Size: 7-feet high
Installation: 2021
Media: Bronze
Collection: University of Texas
Location: Texas Instruments Plaza, Univeristy of Texas, Dallas, Texas

Related Links

• The Nobel Prize — Jack Kilby

• History — Computer, Jack Kilby

• The Bullock Texas State History Museum

• Kansas Historical Society

• Texas Instruments, Jack Kilby

• Jack Kilby, Wikipedia

• Jack Kilby, Britannica

• What’s the Story? The TI Plaza Statue

Jacques Pépin, Relief Sculpture

Jacques Pépin

Jacques Pépin relief portrait by Zenos Frudakis. Pépin’s extraordinary career includes his work as chef in numerous prestigious restaurants in Paris and America, and he when living in France he was personal chef of French President Charles de Gaulle. Pépin has authored more than 30 cookbooks, and has written for The New York Times, Food & Wine and other publications. He is an educator of the culinary arts, appearing in numerous American television programs. Pépin was a longtime friend of the American chef Julia Child, and their 1999 PBS series Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home won a Daytime Emmy Award. He holds a BA and a MA from Columbia University in French literature. Today, Pépin also works as an artist, exhibiting limited edition prints and original artwork.

Relief Portrait Sculpture
Size: 18 inches high, 12 inches wide, approx. 2 inch frame
Media: Bronze
Created: 2023
Collection: The Yale Club
Location: The Yale Club, New York, New York

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Related Sculpture

Jacques Pépin, Portrait Bust

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Related Links

• Jacques Pépin

• Jacques Pépin, Wikipedia

• Harvest Tribute and Installation at Stone Acres Farm, Stonington, CT

Forward Award

Forward Award Sculpture

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has tailored special recognition awards for deserving supporters of freethought or the separation of church and state. Zenos Frudakis created the Foward Award sculpture award that is given to each award recipient. Shown in photo: Cecile Richards (on right), the former President of Planned Parenthood received the Forward Award, and sculptor Zenos Frudakis.

Award Figure Sculpture
Size: Award
Media: Bronze
Location: Private Collection of Award Winners

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Past Recipients

• 2023 – Mary Ziegler

• 2022 – Amy Hagstrom Miller

• 2021 – Gloria Steinem

• 2021 – Margaret Atwood

• 2019 – Nancy Northup

• 2018 – Cecile Richards

• 2017 – Katha Pollitt

• 2016 – Rafida Bonya Ahmed

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Related Links

Forward Award, FFRF

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In the Media

• Abortion Rights Expert on FFRF Sunday TV Show

• Leading Abortion Rights Activist on FFRF Sunday TV Show

• Gloria Steinem showcases FFRF’s 2020 convention

• Secular Survivor of Terror Attack

Jacques Pépin

Jacques Pépin

The portrait bronze of Jacques Pépin, installed at Stone Acres Farm in Stonington, Connecticut, is a permanent tribute to this iconic French chef and his his lifelong influence in the culinary arts and home cooking. Pépin’s extraordinary career includes his work as chef in numerous prestigious restaurants in Paris and America, and he when living in France he was personal chef of French President Charles de Gaulle. Pépin has authored more than 30 cookbooks, and has written for The New York Times, Food & Wine and other publications. He is an educator of the culinary arts, appearing in numerous American television programs. Pépin was a longtime friend of the American chef Julia Child, and their 1999 PBS series Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home won a Daytime Emmy Award. He holds a BA and a MA from Columbia University in French literature. Today, Pépin also works as an artist, exhibiting limited edition prints and original artwork.

Portrait Sculpture
Size: Life size
Media: Bronze, mounted on pink granite sourced from Stoney Creek, CT
Installed: October 13, 2019
Location: Stone Acres Farm, Stonington, Connecticut

Related Sculpture

Jacques Pépin, Relief Sculpture

Related Links

• Jacques Pépin

• Jacques Pépin, Wikipedia

• Harvest Tribute and Installation at Stone Acres Farm, Stonington, CT

In the News

• Jacques Pépin, National Sculpture Society

Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins, portrait sculpture

Richard Dawkins is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. He has received academic and writing awards, and has written numerous books including The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, The God Delusion, An Appetite for Wonder and Brief Candle in the Dark. He founded the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science in 2006.

Portrait Sculpture / Work in Progress
Size: Life size
Media: Clay
Location: Private Frudakis Studio

Related Links

• Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science

• Richard Dawkins, Wikipedia

Michael D. Yon

Michael D. Yon

Relief sculpture of Michael Yon, former LOTOS Club President by sculptor  Zenos Frudakis. The books on the upper shelf of the relief sculpture are dinner guests of the club, the books behind Yon and alongside him are autobiographical.

Relief Portrait Sculpture
Size: Portrait bas-relief, 24” wide by 36” tall
Media: Bronze
Installation: 2022
Collection: LOTOS Club
Location:  Library, LOTOS Club, New York, New York

Ludwig von Mises

Ludwig Von Mises, portrait sculpture

Ludwig von Mises was (September 29, 1881 – October 10, 1973) was an Austrian School economist, historian, logician, and sociologist. He wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberalism. Mises is best known for his work on praxeology studies comparing communism and capitalism.

Portrait Sculpture
Size: Life size
Media: Bronze
Created: 2023
Location/Collection: Private Collection

Related Links

• Ludwig von Mises, Wikipedia

• Ludwig Elder von Mises, Britannica

• Mises Major Writings