Sculpture of Senator Kennedy Completed by Michael Alfano as Replacement to Take Office

HOPKINTON, Mass., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- A realistic portrait sculpture of Senator Edward Kennedy was completed by Michael Alfano to coincide with the election and installment of his successor in Washington. The twice life-size scale echoes Ted Kennedy's stature and implies the daunting gap facing the next Senator from Massachusetts. Standing two-feet tall and bearing a striking resemblance, the bust vividly calls up the late Senator's presence, even from across a large exhibit hall.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100118/NE39524 )

Alfano was inspired to begin the sculpture last August when Kennedy's funeral tributes put perspective on his collective body of contributions. Through the fall, he created the clay version, working from photos in his studio. The first weekend in November, just before the Senatorial primary election, Alfano showed the work-in-progress outdoors at a Newbury Street gallery in Boston that carries his art. Streams of pedestrians of all political leanings remarked on its uncanny likeness to the legislator, whose face is widely recognized given his forty-six year term.

The first casting of the sculpture is in a stone-like material. A bronze casting is being prepared. Alfano is currently scheduling display of the portrait at government buildings and art venues.

About Michael Alfano

Sculptor Michael Alfano is known for creating award-winning portraits, monuments, and surrealistic sculpture. His art is in museums, galleries, and private collections around the world. Portrait commissions of public figures that he sculpted include Egyptian President and Nobel Laureate Anwar Sadat, Pittsburgh Steeler "Mean" Joe Greene, poet Walt Whitman, and Sheraton Corporation past President Daniel Weadock. Last April, his memorial to the legendary sports entrepreneur George V. Brown was installed at the starting line of the Boston Marathon. Forty of his sculptures were shown in Doric Hall at the State House in Boston in June. A profile of Alfano will appear in a new coffee table book to be released in the spring, "100 New England Artists," by Ashley Rooney. Alfano works and resides in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, where he is currently completing a large outdoor sculpture for a New England hospital.

For more information, visit www.malfano.com.

SOURCE Michael Alfano