Marshfield's George Greenamyer left a 'sculpture park' in his yard. Next, Provincetown?

MARSHFIELD ? The late Marshfield sculptor George Greenamyer loved his retirement. After teaching for some 40 years at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, he finally felt free of commissions and was able to create whatever he wanted. He could spend all his energy on expressing his busy inner life of thoughts and opinions.

Greenamyer already had his works in some key museums and public sites. Starting around 2013, he had more time to also turn his own property along Careswell Street into an outdoor sculpture gallery, installing 16 sculptures, 12 of them wind-activated. Today, a half dozen of his steel sculptures have been carefully placed in his former home's front, side and back yards.

One recently made a temporary move to Provincetown, and some of Greenamyer's former students hope more may follow.

When Greenamyer died at age 83 in April 2023 of pneumonia after a fall, his wife, Beverly Burbank, did not hold a memorial service. Instead, former students, colleagues and others interested in his legacy were welcome to stop by his home and former studio, see his work and explore his personal protest art.

"These pieces were about his own thoughts, and he had many thoughts and beliefs and they were strongly held," Burbank says.

A knock on the door, an unusual offer

The 31 public art commissions that Greenamyer had completed in public spaces around the country, including Penn Station in New York, were tailored to local history and the ideas of others. He and Burbank, his business partner, carefully researched that history for each commission.

The works that he did after retirement included themes of overpopulation, the frustrations of bureaucracy, corporate greed and verbose art curators.

Step into his studio: Photos of George Greenamyer at work

Several months ago, Burbank had an unusual offer. Sam Tager, of Provincetown, was at her door.

Tager was once an eager young sculpture student at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) in Boston. He studied with Greenamyer, who had started the school's sculpture department, and worked for him, helping with a few installations of his works.

"George had an enormous influence on me," Tager said. "He was an eccentric, wonderful, supportive and energetic teacher. George really was my education."

Today, Tager is executive director of the Provincetown Public Art Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to telling the story of Provincetown's, past, present and future with public art.

Tager proposed a novel way of paying tribute to his former teacher. He wanted to select one of the large personal sculptures that Greenamyer had created and have it moved temporarily to the foundation's public space on Commercial Street in Provincetown. It would be part of a festival of local and regional art adding color and whimsy to the streets so popular in the summer.

As soon as he drove in Burbank's driveway, Tager knew he had come to the right place.

"She is living in a sculpture park of George's work," he said. "A lot of his work after he retired is very political, and as you look at the pieces, you see he addresses the ills of society as he saw things then."

Of the half dozen pieces outside Greenamyer's house, Tager selected his 2006 forged steel "Three Rotating Bureaucrats."

This year's Provincetown stroll includes summer art festival

Greenamyer is one of 10 local and regional artists whose murals and sculptures can be seen through the summer on MacMillan Pier and along Commercial Street in the town's East End. "Three Rotating Bureaucrats" is at 467 Commercial St. near Angel Foods.

Tager believes Greenamyer's work is locally relevant because of the way he used wind power to make his sculptures move. "Three Rotating Bureaucrats" has been placed where a Provincetown salt works once stood; the salt works used windmills to pump sea water into vats.

Hopes to bring more Greenamyer sculptures to Provincetown

The large sculpture was taken apart, moved to Provincetown and reassembled by K and B Welding and Fabrications in Pembroke. Greenamyer had also used the company for the installation of some of his pieces.

"It is an honor to mount this piece," Tager said last week before the public reception July 24 in Provincetown. "I hope we can a site a number of his works, because they are beautifully conceived, thoughtful and carefully executed."

The public citation honoring Greenamyer states that he "was a renowned American sculptor known for his unique and innovative works. He inspired countless students with his artistic vision. ... His legacy lives on through his celebrated works and the inspiration he continues to provide to aspiring artists."

Greenamyer received his fine arts degree in 1963 from the Philadelphia College of Art and completed his master of fine arts degree in 1969 at the University of Kansas. He started the sculpture department at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 1969.

He has works in the permanent collections of The DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, The Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, The Art Complex Museum in Duxbury and Boston University. His biggest piece was in 2002 for the restored Penn Station in New York; his last commission in 2012 was wind-powered "Traffic" in Roslindale. When he died in 2023, a scholarship in his name was started at MassArt.

Reach Sue Scheible at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: George Greenamyer is gone, but his sculpture is still an inspiration