News Releases

NH Sculptor Selected for Fire Station Sculpture
(September 18, 2007)

      PORTSMOUTH – The City of Portsmouth has contracted with well-known Canaan, N.H., sculptor Emile Birch to create and install a sculpture and fountain public artwork entitled “Vigilance” near the Central Fire Station, Fire Chief Christopher LeClaire announced Monday.
           
“We are thrilled that a sculptor of Emile Birch’s caliber will be creating such an inspiring work of art in Portsmouth that honors the City’s proud firefighting history,” LeClaire said. “This sculpture and fountain will be admired and enjoyed by residents and visitors, alike, for generations to come.” 

Birch publicly unveiled his concept at a reception Monday night and hopes to complete the artwork in late fall of 2008. The sculpture will portray two bronze five-foot-tall firefighters in full gear, one representing the past and the other the present, on either side of a 13-foot-tall brick archway that spans a lighted fountain, which will cascade into a 16’9" by 12’6” pool with edges wide enough for seating. It will replace the flagpole, benches and plantings currently outside the Central Station.

LeClaire said a committee comprised of representatives from the Fire Department, the arts community, and other city departments selected “Vigilance” from among 14 outstanding proposals. Twelve of the artists were from New Hampshire or southern Maine.

 Birch is known primarily for his many large sculptures in communities and corporations throughout New Hampshire, such as the “New Hampshire Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial” on the statehouse grounds in Concord, “The Founders Gate” in Exeter and the beloved sculpture of “Pollyanna” in Littleton.  He is also known as a teaching artist of excellent reputation who has completed many successful residencies in colleges, schools, and communities throughout New England. He recently designed a mosaic using 650 wooden tiles painted by Dover residents for the non-profit McConnell Community Center. 

The campaign to build the monument began in 2004 after it was determined that the firefighter sculpture outside Station 2 on Lafayette Road was too fragile to be moved to the renovated streetscape near the downtown station. A fund-raising effort was launched in October 2004 when Northern Utilities gave the City an $8,000 challenge grant. In June 2006, the City applied for, and received, a $35,000 grant from the charitable arm of the utility’s parent company, NiSource Inc.

Other contributions include: $10,000 from Ron Bourgeault of Northeast Auctions; $5,000 from City Councilor M. Chris Dwyer; $3,000 from Granite State Minerals; $1,500 from Ocean National Bank; $1,000 from Portsmouth Hospital; $1,000 from Robert & Nackey Scagliotti; $500 from Dennis M. Ryan; $800 in contributions in memory of Ian Esperian, who died in a July 2006 fire; $250 from Greenwood Emergency Vehicles, and $25 from Eugene and Dianna Hersey.
 
A total of $66,075 was raised from donations and the grant. The City contributed $19,500 in matching funds required for three donations and has donated $ 7,400 in in-kind services thus far. The City is still seeking donations of labor from a plumber and a mason, and materials such as concrete, bricks, pumps and lighting.
 
The Portsmouth Fire Department serves the City’s residents and visitors, business owners, and visiting ocean vessels, and also responds to calls for mutual aid from 50 area communities.     

Emile Birch

My design for the Portsmouth Fire Department sculpture is based on the concept of the enduring gift of vigilance “To be always on watch.”

I have chosen to express the idea of Vigilance as a sturdy archway constructed of brick formed from the earth of the Great Bay, from which much of the city of Portsmouth is built. On each side of the archway will be a bronze sculpture set upon a precipice. On one side will be a fireman of the past, representing the long history of firefighting in Portsmouth, and on the other, a fireman of today who has the responsibility for the future of the city. The center of the archway will be brightly illuminated in an amber glow beneath the flowing waters of the fountain. The movement of the water over the light will cause the light to be animated on the surface of the archway and the sculptures.

My goal is to express symbolically the bravery and fortitude that is, and forever has been, necessary to continue the fight of quenching the flame, knowing full well it will never be extinguished completely and will surely show its treachery again. 

About Emile Birch
Emile Birch of Canaan, NH, is known primarily for his many large sculptures in communities and corporations throughout New Hampshire, such as the “New Hampshire Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial” on the statehouse grounds in Concord, “The Founders Gate” in Exeter, and the beloved sculpture of “Pollyanna” in Littleton.  He is also known as a teaching artist of excellent reputation who has completed many successful residencies in colleges, schools, and communities throughout New England.

About the Artwork
The sculpture will be located outside of the Central Fire Station, also known as Station 1. It will portray two bronze five-foot-tall firefighters in full gear on either side of a 13-foot-tall brick archway that spans a lighted fountain, which will cascade into a 16’9" by 12’6” pool with edges wide enough for seating. It will replace the flagpole, benches and plantings currently outside the Central Station and is scheduled for completion in fall 2008. The artwork will be funded by a $35,000 grant from the NiSource Foundation, the charitable arm of the parent company of Northern Utilities; $31,075 in donations; and $19,500 in City matching funds plus thousands more in in-kind services. The Fire Department is still seeking donations of certain materials and services.

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