Artwork Details
- Title
- Bear and Cub
- Artist
- Joseph J. Greenberg, Jr. (1915-1991)
- Year
- 1957
- Location
- Not on view
- Medium
- Black Coopersberg granite, on granite base
- Dimensions
- Height 3'7", width 2'8", depth 5'8 1/2", diameter 4'8" (base height 11")
Artwork Description
NOTE: This sculpture has been temporarily removed and is in storage.
More approachable than the average bruin, and even more durable, the mother bear and her cub were commissioned for the Philadelphia Zoo by Association for Public Art (then known as the Fairmount Park Art Association). These supple forms in black granite represented the first major commission for local sculptor Joseph Greenberg.
Born in Philadelphia, Greenberg studied at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art with Raphael Sabatini. After a stay in Italy in the early 1950s, he returned to Philadelphia, where he began to experiment with works in fiberglass and reinforced plastic.
As Bear and Cub attests, Greenberg was equally skilled in more traditional media. He also created a limestone gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan for the Zoo, and his sculptures appear in schools, recreation centers, and other public and private sites throughout Philadelphia. He helped persuade local officials to establish the city’s landmark percent-for-art program.
Adapted from Public Art in Philadelphia by Penny Balkin Bach (Temple University Press, 1992). Penny Balkin Bach was Executive Director of the Association for Public Art from 1980 to 2022.
Artwork Credits
Commissioned by Association for Public Art (formerly the Fairmount Park Art Association)
Owned by the Zoological Society of Philadelphia