11/10/2009 1:34:00 PM Pettit's bronze work is back Late artist’s work is a lasting legacy
Ryan Williams/WGCN
"Dance Of the Yellow Apron" by Bill Pettit, one of eight of Pettit's sculptures being recast by Laurha Beveridge. Pettit's piece depicts old friends celebrating a successful trapping season.
Ryan Williams Williams-Grand Canyon News Reporter
WILLIAMS - When local sculptor Bill Pettit passed away, he left a rich body of work behind. Now, new life is being breathed into his sculptures.
Pettit's widow, Laurha Beveridge, has begun recasting some of Pettit's work in hopes of the art reaching a broader audience.
Pettit passed away Oct. 26, 2006 at the age of 59. According to Beveridge, he was not actively sculpting, but plans were in the works to build a new studio in his side yard.
"When he died we were in the process of getting him back involved in his art. He was ill. He had Addisons disease, late onset Type 1 Diabetes, chronic headaches and whatnot, so it was really difficult for him to work on his sculpture. He was sick a lot," she said.
After his passing, Beveridge inherited some of the copyrights to Pettit's work. She is currently in the process of reissuing a selection of his pieces in new limited edition runs and completing some of the sculpture series that did not sell out during Pettit's lifetime.
Fresh molds of Pettit's work have been made at Sedona Bronze foundry, the same foundry Pettit worked with during his career. Beveridge has been gathering molds and locating finished pieces of some of the sculptures she doesn't own in order to create new molds and castings.
Beveridge plans to begin showing Pettit's work in galleries throughout northern Arizona.
"I really want to honor Bill, his family and his work as well as Williams and the people that have been supporting him through his entire life," she said. "I would like to see people smile when they see his work. I've put a lot of work into getting this stuff all put together and I think I've done him right. I think I've done him proud."
Pettit moved from Arkansas to Williams with his family in 1953, the same year the first meeting of the Bill Williams Mountain Men was held. Beveridge said he became fascinated with mountain men like Bill Williams, an interest that informed the majority of his work.
Pettit attended NAU in the early 1970's where he studied with Dr. Winthrop Williams. He earned his undergraduate degree in 1976. He then began work on a masters degree.
His most recognized sculpture, the eight-foot tall monument of Bill Williams that stands in Williams, entitled "William Shirley Williams," was Pettit's masters degree thesis project. The piece was cast in parts. Pettit then took the castings from Flagstaff to Williams where the pieces were then welded together. Its unveiling in 1980 was attended by U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater.
Eight of Pettit's sculptures are now newly available. Among them are Pettit's last piece, "Dance of the Yellow Apron" and "Ole Bill," a smaller scale replica of the original monument.
Beveridge said making Pettit's artwork available to a wider audience has been gratifying.
"I'm having a ball getting the work out there," she said. "A lot of people are lighting up seeing that Bill's stuff is coming back out."
For further information about Pettit and the limited edition recastings of his work now available, visit www.mountainmanbronzes.com.
