Artist Rick Harney donated this marvelous fired-clay sculpture of Satchel Paige to the Baseball Reliquary. It is a wall-mounted relief (flat on back), and dimensions are 34” high, 10” wide, and 3” deep at its highest relief. A graduate of Illinois State University, Harney is a resident of Normal, Illinois. From his studio in Bloomington’s Cultural District, he makes figurative drawings, paintings, and sculptures. Working with a wide range of sculptural media, including bronze, ceramic, papier-mâché, and many varieties of wood, Harney skillfully renders historical figures and creates inventive characters based on events, memories, and feelings in his private life. His commissioned works include life-sized bronzes of Abraham Lincoln at the Livingstone County Courthouse Square in Pontiac, the McLean County History Museum in Bloomington, and the Danville Historical Society in Danville. His sculptures are in the collections of McDonald’s Corporate Headquarters in Oakbrook, Illinois and the Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington. Other public works are on view at Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, and Asahikawa, Japan (Bloomington/Normal Sister Cities).
