On this date in 2000, sculptor Tom Neary installed a 14-foot-tall stainless steel sign at the intersection of highways 83 and 200 in Washburn. The sign, which weighs almost a ton, reads “Historic Washburn” above a scene of Lewis, Clark, and Sakakawea. The giant sign was commissioned by the Washburn Civic Club and gave Tom Neary a chance to put his mark on the town he lived in and loved.
Tom Neary did not expect to become an artist. He grew up in Underwood, and in the 1970s moved to Washburn to be a pipefitter and welder. During down times at work, he played around with scrap iron, welding candle holders and various knick-knacks for friends. He was encouraged to submit some of his work to an art show. His work sold, and soon commissions came in. He started attending art shows, displaying his large steel statues, signs, and sculptures.
Tom Neary’s first major commissioned work was a sculpture of an eagle in Bismarck’s Custer Park. It was commissioned by the Bismarck Park District to commemorate the bicentennial for the U.S. Constitution. The 32-foot by 16-foot eagle weighs 3 tons. The beautiful and impressive sculpture was erected in 1988 to much acclaim. Other major works that followed included a mermaid sculpture in Riverdale, a 24-foot-long turtle in Turtle Lake, and a 22-foot-tall heart in McClusky.
Perhaps his greatest work was dedicated in June of 2004 for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commemoration. 200 years earlier, in1804, Lewis and Clark wintered with the Mandan people near Washburn. Neary was commissioned to provide sculptures of Lewis, Clark, and Chief Sheheke. The 12-foot-tall lifelike statues stand outside of the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Washburn. It took four years for Neary to complete the statues, after many years of deep research to ensure that his work was historically accurate. In June 2006 Neary’s statue of Seaman, Lewis and Clark’s Newfoundland dog, was installed near the Missouri River in Washburn. The 1,400 pound six-foot-tall sculpture is a popular and delightful statue for children and adults alike.
Dakota Datebook by Trista Raezer-Stursa
Sources:
- Donovan, Lauren. “Metal Artist of a Mind with Lewis and Clark,” The Bismarck Tribune, July 21, 2000, pg. 1A, 12A.
- Gilmour, Deneen. “Remembering the Voyage: Fort Mandan Readies for Lewis and Clark Anniversary,” The Bismarck Tribune, November 21, 1993, pg. C1.
- Grantier, Virginia. “A Statue to Drool Over,” The Bismarck Tribune, June 19, 2006, pg. 1.
- Kroh, Judy. “Painstaking Progress on Eagle Sculpture Measured by Inches,” The Bismarck Tribune, March 6, 1988, pg. 5C.
- Neary, Tom. Metal Sculptures by Tom Neary, www.tomneary.com, accessed June 27, 2023.
- Roberts, Elise S., "Art, Life Story and Cultural Memory: Profiles of the Artists of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial" (2015). Education Doctoral Dissertations in Leadership. 63. https://ir.stthomas.edu/caps_ed_lead_docdiss/63
- Schreier, Laura. “Three Lewis and Clark Statues Go Up,” The Bismarck Tribune, June 22, 2004, pg. 1B.
