Sand Artistry, 1909

Elaborate sand frieze of famous figures at Ocean Beach, December 1909. - Courtesy of Gary Stark.

San Francisco Chronicle, December 6, 1909, page 14:

Sculptor on the Ocean Beach Makes Artistic Images Out of Wet Sand

"A sculptor with an artistic soul and a facile hand astonished visitors to the beach yesterday afternoon by modeling various figures and portraits in the wet sand on the beach just south of the Cliff House. The largest and most remarkable was a heroic sized figure of a woman lying on her back and clasping a chubby infant to her breast. It was labeled "Cast Up By the Waves." The portraits were those of Longfellow, General Grant, President Taft and other notable men.

"The boys and girls who delight in making mud pies or sand pies on the beach were speechless with astonishment and asked the man to show them how to make such nice things."

A postcard view of one version of a December 1909 sand sculpture at Ocean Beach. - Courtesy of Joseph Frank Mitchell.

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