He stands resolute. Proud. Unmistakable. Every year, a fresh group of students pass him on their matriculation day and four years later, he watches as they walk to their graduation. Any Piper will agree that The Bishop is far more than just a statue. Through hell or high water, the man in bronze stands unwavering, facing southward toward Old Main. The real legend is much more than just the well-known effigy, however. The real legend is the man who painstakingly shaped each strand of Hamline’s hair, each wrinkle in his coat and each line on his face. The real legend is Michael Price.

Former Hamline professor Michael Price (1940-2001) grew up in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. After earning his M.A. in Mathematics from the University of Illinois, his M.F.A. in sculpture from Tulane University and completing a tour with the United States Army, Price found his home at Hamline.

He taught sculpture, drawing and art history from 1970 until his death in 2001, leaving a lasting impact on countless people, students and staff alike. Price’s sculpture of Bishop Leonidas Hamline was installed more than 20 years ago and in that time, has become an integral part of the University’s landscape.

Price has been highly praised for his ability to make his statues approachable and truly capturing the essence of his subject. For certain pieces, he would even go so far as to read books about his subjects in order to better understand their story. He believed that the better he understood the person, the more honestly he could portray them.

On Thursday, Oct. 8, Hamline held the opening reception for Michael Price’s commemorative exhibition, A Legacy in Bronze. A Legacy in Bronze is currently on display in Drew Fine Arts’ Soeffker Gallery. The space was overflowing with people enjoying cheese, wine and admiring the works of Michael Price. In attendance were enthusiasts of all forms: students, staff, faculty and community members alike. Though he is regarded chiefly for his work with bronze, the room also showcased his boundless artistic versatility. Price’s work will be on display in the gallery until Dec. 11.

Price favored the lost-wax casting method. Early examples of this technique have been subjected to the Conservative Carbon C-14 process and date back to approximately 3700 BCE. Lost-wax is an intensely complicated means of bronze casting which involves the artist creating an initial sculpture from wax, clay or some other medium, making a mould of the sculpture and making another “mock-sculpture” out of wax. Though the process takes a great deal of time, patience and attention to detail, it’s obvious that the finished product is of the highest quality.

Just a few miles from Hamline stands a bronze likeness of Archbishop John Ireland, founder of the University of Saint Thomas. In Rice Park, Price managed to immortalize world-renowned novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald and his trademark smirk. Though, to the Hamline community, The Bishop may very well be the most beloved of Price’s works, his fingerprints crisscross the nation.