Find Art All Around Orange County Florida
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Beardall Senior Center
About the Artwork
Commissioned by the City of Orlando, this slightly larger-than-life statue depicts former Orlando mayor William “Billy” Beardall hugging a child who is holding an outstretched hand to a hovering bird. To the artist, the bird represented youth “flying into the future.” Like many other Orlando City art commissions, this piece was paid for with money from Orlando’s municipal art fund, created by a 1984 ordinance that sets aside 1 percent of qualified capital project monies for the purchase of art.
About the Artist
William Kilpatrick
William Kilpatrick is a graduate of Newark School of Fine & Industrial Arts, and also studied at The School of Visual Arts in New York and in special courses at the Arts Students’ League. Before his sculptural work, he painted in oils and acrylic. Now he works in clay and then in bronze creating both abstract and realistic, albeit romantic, figurative pieces. Among his many commissions are several in the Orlando area. He has exhibited in one-person and group shows nationwide, was chosen to represent the United States in the ITT International Art Exhibit and Traveling Exhibition, and his work appears in private collections in the United States, Canada, Belgium and France.
Did you know?
The tired traveler sitting on the floor of the Orlando airport was actually a bronze statue by Duane Hanson. It was so loved (and abused) that he has now been placed behind plexiglass. Still travelers often argue about whether he is "real".
Discover Art in Central Florida!
For those who have eyes to see, there are hundreds of works of art around them.
This web site provides some information on many of those works of art that can
be regularly viewed in Orange County by any member of the public without an
admission fee. They are outside in public view, or located in an interior area
that is normally open to the public.
Look around this web site and find something that interests you. Then go see it
in person. The information you find here will add to the pleasure of exploring
public art in Central Florida.
If, in your travels around Orange County, you come across some public art that
is not listed here, please let us know so we can add it. If you are aware of
additional information about art or artist that is included here, again, please
let us know. Together we can make this an incredible resource for people seeking
to spice up their life through exploring art.