Laran Bronze is a fine art
foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
in
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...
. Founded in 1984 by Larry and Randy Welker in facilities built for the city's once-booming
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...
industry, the foundry has cast many monumental and significant sculptures, including many of the bronze components of the
World War II Memorial
The World War II Memorial is a national memorial in the United States dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
The memorial consists o ...
in Washington, D.C.
In 1985 or 1986, the foundry cast replicas of the hands of painter
Andrew Wyeth
Andrew Newell Wyeth ( ; July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) was an American visual artist and one of the best-known American artists of the middle 20th century. Though he considered himself to be an "abstractionist," Wyeth was primarily a realis ...
; in 2019, one of these replicas sold at auction, along with a Wyeth painting, for $490,230.
The components cast at Laran for the WWII Memorial include four 18-foot columns, eight eagles with 10- to 12-foot wingspans, two 10-foot wreaths, and 24 plaques.
Other works cast at Laran Bronze include:
*''Holodomor Memorial'', Washington, D.C.
*''Keys to Community'', Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*''Gregor Mendel'', Villanova University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*''The U.S. Air Force Honor Guard Memorial'', Arlington, Virginia
*''Brigadier-General
John Gibbon
John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.
Early life
Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Holmesburg section ...
statue,''
Gettysburg battlefield
The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first shot & at Knoxlyn Ridge ...
, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
* ''Sculptures on the Square'', Charlotte, North Carolina
* ''Gem of the Lakes,'' 311 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois
Works
Notes
External links
{{official, http://laranbronze.com/
Foundries in the United States