At A Glance
The artist worked closely with John Ostrom, the Yale Professor who discovered Deinonychus in 1964
This sculpture is the first full-size reconstruction of the 100-million-year-old Deinonychus
The individual figures are sculpted 50% larger than life
Commissioned by the Academy of Natural Sciences to commemorate the institution’s 175th anniversary
Deinonychus (“terrible claw”) was a swift meat-eating dinosaur from the Cretaceous period. This sculpture is the first full-size reconstruction of the 100-million-year-old Deinonychus, and it is believed to be the world’s first monumental work of sculptural art using dinosaurs. Artist Kent Ullberg of Stockholm, Sweden and Corpus Christi, Texas worked closely with John Ostrom, the Yale Professor who discovered Deinonychus in Montana in 1964, to ensure that his sculpture accurately reflected paleontological thinking about the dinosaur. The individual figures – two nimble bronze specimens, balanced on a claw-like form – are sculpted 50% larger than life.
Deinonychus was commissioned by a long-time, anonymous friend of The Academy of Natural Sciences to commemorate the institution’s 175th anniversary and its historic and contemporary work in paleontology. The artwork was installed and dedicated at the Logan Square entrance of The Academy of Natural Sciences in April 1987.
Voices heard in the Museum Without Walls: AUDIO program: Dr. Edward B. Daeschler is Curator of Vertebrate Zoology and Paleontology at The Academy of Natural Sciences. Kent Ullberg is a sculptor and curator of natural history who created Deinonychus. Dr. Leonard Warren is the author of the biography Joseph Leidy: The Last Man Who Knew Everything. | Segment Producer: Jonathan Menjivar
Museum Without Walls: AUDIO is the Association for Public Art’s award-winning audio program for Philadelphia’s outdoor sculpture. Available for free by phone, mobile app, or online, the program features more than 150 voices from all walks of life – artists, educators, civic leaders, historians, and those with personal connections to the artworks.
RESOURCES
This artwork is part of the Along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway tour
