Michael Price

Michael Price (October 21, 1940 – May 5, 2001), was a 20th-century sculptor specializing in public art. His best known installation is his sculpture of F. Scott Fitzgerald, installed in 1996 in Rice Park, Saint Paul, Minnesota, to commemorate Fitzgerald's 100th birthday. The original head from this piece—replaced by Price prior to installation—can be seen at the end of the 2006 movie, A Prairie Home Companion.

Biography Price was born October 21, 1940, in Chicago, the second child of Louis, the inventor of the caramel popcorn machine, and Florence, a public school teacher. He grew up in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago, graduating from Hyde Park High School in 1957. Price eventually earned his M.A. in Mathematics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1964, and then served in the U.S. Army. After his tour in the Army, he returned to school earned his M.F.A. in sculpture from Tulane University in 1968. Price worked primarily in bronze, and used the lost-wax casting process to cast his pieces; he preferred to do his own casting. His work can be found in numerous installations in California, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. His pieces have a human quality and tend to be approachable. They are often installed without a pedestal. When Price sculpted he not only relied on models, film, and photographs to capture a subject, but also read any available writings by or about the subject. Price thought this research helped him understand his subject better and create the approachable, human work he was known for.

Installations John and Lydia Morris. Cast and Installed in 1981 at the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania. Commissioned by Philip and Muriel Berman. Archbishop John Ireland. Installed in 1986 at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota.