This book is a non-fiction study of the lives of ten different sculptors and the key public sculptures each contributed to the landscape and identity of Portland, Oregon, between 1900 and 2003. Each chapter examines the history of how these artworks were created, the challenges each sculptor faced, and how these artworks in a variety of sculpture media have contributed to the public arts scene of Portland into the twenty-first century.

For its discussion of historical sculpture unique to Portland, a researched examination is made into those subjects selected by each sculptor, where influences of national identity, patriotism, symbolic representation, and the lives of each sculptor help to better understand the history and forces at work which brought these sculptures into existence. Interviews with two of the sculptors offer personal insights into their creative process: from the studio design to final installation in Portland. From Roland Hinton Perry and Alice Cooper, to James Lee Hansen and Raymond Kaskey, sculptures ranging from bronze castings of U.S. presidents, to other historical and allegorical figures in copper and marble, the author provides an in-depth review and presentation of Portland’s public art as never seen before.