Artist Selected For Bill Russell Statue In Boston
BOSTON (CBS) – The artist team for the Bill Russell statue was announced Monday evening.
The Bill Russell Legacy Committee, the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation and Boston Mayor Tom Menino announced that sculptor Antonio Tobias "Toby" Mendez and architect Matthew Oudens have been chosen to design the Bill Russell Legacy Project sculpture.
City Hall Plaza was chosen as the location for the statue citing its prominent civic location and proximity to the Freedom Trail, Faneuil Hall, and many of the city's popular historic sites.
"This is such a great honor to be chosen to create the tribute to Bill Russell," Artist Toby Mendez said. "Russell is such a transformative person in so many aspects of his life; in his career on the court as a player and later as a coach, his contributions to human rights and in his dedication to mentorship programs that will guide our children into the future."
Mendez is best known for the Thurgood Marshall Memorial in Annapolis, Maryland and locally The Teammates sculpture that was commissioned by the Boston Red Sox.
A program to encourage mentoring has also been set up in Russell's name.
