Peter Wolf Toth (born December 1947) is an American

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. Born in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, Toth immigrated to the United States and settled in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

. He later studied art at

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

. He created a series of sculptures called ''

Trail of the Whispering Giants The ''Trail of the Whispering Giants'' is a collection of sculptures by American artist Peter Wolf Toth. The sculptures range in height from , and are between in diameter. In 2009, there were 74 ''Whispering Giants'', with at least one in each o ...

'' to honor Native Americans. He has created more than 74 sculptures, including at least one in each

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of the United States, and in several

provinces and territories of Canada Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

''Trail of the Whispering Giants''

Toth completed his first sculpture, of stone, in

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

in February 1972. The sculpture of a Native American head, measuring nearly in height from chin to forehead, was carved into a sandstone cliff located between Marine Street and Windansea Beach, and represented three months of work.''La Jolla Light'', July 12, 1979, page C-9, and ''La Jolla Light'', July 19, 1979, page A-1 Thereafter, he decided to embark upon a journey to create a sculpture in each state. His second sculpture was located in Sand Run Metropolitan Park in his American hometown of Akron, Ohio, which has since been destroyed and not replaced. Since then he has completed a statue in each of the 50 states, and in several provinces of Canada. Some states now have more than one sculpture. Florida has three sculptures located in

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

, Punta Gorda and another which was moved from Hollywood, FL, to

. Toth has replaced some destroyed sculptures with new ones, but not all. Peter Toth's mission to carve a "Whispering Giant" in all 50 United States was completed in May 1988, when he finished sculpture #58 in Hawaii. Since then, Toth has continued his mission of honoring oppressed peoples in general and the American Indian in particular. His most recent Whispering Giant, #74, was completed in 2009 in Vincennes, Indiana. All are dedicated to the American Indian excepting #73 which is of Medieval King Stephen in Delegyhaza, Hungary, Toth's country of birth. The largest sculptures stand over in height, with some exceeding . When discussing his interpretation of what to sculpt for his

Winslow, Arizona Winslow is a city in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of the city is 9,005. It is approximately southeast of Flagstaff, Arizona, Flagstaff, west of Albuquerque, New ...

, project, Toth had this to say:

After 1988

Toth continues to plan further sculptures in other countries, and also spends time making repairs and performing maintenance on the existing sculptures. He has created replacement sculptures where statues have been damaged.

References

External links

Photos of sculptures

*
Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) Art Inventories Catalog: Peter Toth inventory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toth, Peter Wolf 1947 births Living people American sculptors Hungarian emigrants to the United States University of Akron alumni

''Trail of the Whispering Giants''

After 1988

References

Further reading

External links