Granny D sculpture

PETERBOROUGH – The Sharon Arts Center ihas received the gift of a uniquely sculpted bust of Doris “Granny D” Haddock, the famed Dublin political activist who in her 90th year walked 3,200 miles across the country in support of campaign reform. Haddock celebrated her 100th birthday Jan. 24. The sculpture was donated to the Sharon Arts Center by the sculptor at the suggestion of her son, Tom Strickland, a Sharon Arts trustee. A realistic rendering sculpted in clay and suitable for bronzing, Sharon Arts has announced that the center will seek inquiries from interested parties to raise funds in conjunction with the organization’s just-announced 2010 capital campaign to purchase the downtown gallery space.

The work is part of Oklahoma sculptor Lou Moore Hale’s Centenarian project, “Facing a Century: Life Stories in Sculpture.” Through the project, the sculptor has captured famous figures from Vaclav Havel, former president of the Czech Republic, to Otis Clark, now 105, a survivor of the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.

“Granny D. is one of my favorites,” said Hale, herself a septuagenarian. “It was a challenge to capture her wit, her charm. I visited her at her home in New Hampshire, and she had a PBS advance crew sitting cooling their heels in her living room while we chatted on her deck.”

Granny D visited the Downtown Gallery on Saturday, Jan. 30, to see the sculpture for the first time. When asked what she thought of the sculpture, she commented that “it’s hard to be modest. I’m noticing that she’s a very beautiful woman.” T

he Granny D bust is currently on display at the Sharon Arts Downtown Galleries. Interested parties may contact Carol Laughner at 924-7256, ext. 307.