Life-Size Bronze Sculpture of Margaret Fuller Donated to Concord Free Public Library
Penelope Jencks' statue of Margaret Fuller in situ pre-restoration
A life-size bronze likeness of 19th century writer, book reviewer, and women’s rights advocate Margaret Fuller has been donated to Massachusetts’ Concord Free Public Library Corporation and will be unveiled next month.
The statue was made in 1985 by American sculptor Penelope Jencks, known for her public works that include the Eleanor Roosevelt Monument in New York City. It was commissioned by planner and preservationist Ronald Lee Fleming who had it displayed at his home in Cambridge, MA, and recently decided to donate it to the Concord Library.
“I was introduced to Margaret Fuller by Ron Fleming back in 1985," said Jencks. "He had seen a wonderful actress give a presentation of Margaret Fuller and fell in love with her. He asked me if I could make a sculpture of her by the end of May, and as it was already April, I said I would try but who knows!”
After an intense two months of both reading about Fuller and working on the statue, Jencks finished the project on schedule.
“Margaret Fuller was among the earliest and most influential champions of women’s rights in the United States, as well as a central figure in the Transcendentalist movement," said Anke Voss, curator of the library’s William Munroe Special Collections. "We are deeply grateful for this generous donation and for the opportunity to honor her legacy here in Concord with this stunning sculpture by Penelope Jencks.”
The statue is presently undergoing restoration by Skylight Studios in Woburn, MA, and once finished it will be installed and displayed in the library’s Garden Retreat. The restoration is being funded by The Munroe Society of the Library Corporation, an affinity group dedicated to the preservation and advancement of the William Munroe Special Collections.
“Penelope Jencks’s Margaret Fuller embodies the determination, intellectuality, and boldness of spirit we know, from her writing and from her friends’ testimony, the flesh-and-blood woman possessed in such great measure," said Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize-winning scholar and author of Margaret Fuller: A New American Life. "It’s fitting that Margaret Fuller will be situated just outside the library that Emerson helped to start."
The Concord Free Public Library has scheduled the unveiling for May 23 at 2pm. Speakers will include Penelope Jencks, Ronald Lee Fleming, Anke Voss, Megan Marshall, and trustees of the Library Corporation.
