Stanley Bleifeld
Stanley Bleifeld (August 28, 1924 – March 26, 2011) was an American sculptor.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Bleifeld’s many awards included: Sculptor of the Year in Pietrasanta and the World, in 2004, the Henry Hering Memorial Medal of the National Sculpture Society, (he was president of the Society from 1991 to 1993), the Medal of Liberty from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Shikler Award from National Academy of Design, and many others.
He was a National Academician in Sculpture, and was an active member of the National Academy of Design, helping to set policy for that renowned organization.
Bleifeld’s public monuments include four sculptures for the U.S. Navy Memorial (he served in the Navy in World War II) in Washington, D.C., the Knights of Columbus Memorial in Connecticut, and the Baseball Players at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. and many others. The originals of his works The Lone Sailor and The Homecoming are two created for the Navy Memorial. Subsequently, a number of replicas deployed across the United States.
A replica of The Homecoming" was unveiled at the Golden Gate Bridge Vista Point in 2002. It was dedicated as a tribute to the men and women of the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines who shipped out through the Golden Gate, more than a million and a half during World War II alone. The bronze statue is seven feet tall and weighs eight hundred pounds. The sailor stands beside a stanchion and his duffel bag looking at the City of San Francisco.
His work is in numerous private collections throughout the world. Most recently he won a commission for, and unveiled a Civil Rights monument “It Seemed like Reaching for the Moon” in Richmond, Va.
Bleifeld died from a cerebral hemorrhage following a head injury received from a fall four days earlier at his Weston studio.