"The Maine Lobsterman" sculpture is a familiar piece of public art to most people who've wandered around Portland. It's located in ... wait for it ... Lobsterman Square! (To be honest I had no idea the plaza in front of the Nickelodeon had a name until I looked it up on the city's official public art list.)

Created by Victor Kahill (1895-1965), the original sculpture was made of plaster and exhibited at the 1939 World's Fair. In 1974 Normal Therrien produced this bronze version, which was installed in 1977 in its current spot in Portland. In 1983, the Maine State Society of Washington, DC had another cast made and installed it on Maine Avenue in Washington, DC. Another duplicate lives in Harpswell, the hometown of model Elroy Johnson.

This work caught my eye because I have lobster on my mind this week. In the current edition of Switch magazine, I wrote a piece about a new trend of selling lobsters directly to the public. I'm constantly amazed by the hard work that goes into pulling these luxury eats from the deep. To me, it seems a far cry from the civilized handshake that appears to be taking place in this work.