Spirit of Flight
Scale model for sculpture placed at entrance of Love Field Airport, Dallas. One of two designs which won the competition, both by Umlauf. His first piece to be cast in Pietrasanta, Italy, where the "lost wax process" has been practiced for centuries. From 1960 on, Umlauf worked at these foundries yearly to make full-sized castings of scale models he developed and prepared in Austin. The Love Field commission established his national reputation. Full-sized Spirit is 17 feet high, mounted in a 24-feet tall granite plinth centered in a fountain and surrounded by 18 birds.
Date: 1959
Material: Bronze
Dimension: 68.5 x 32.5 x 11
Location: Terrace
Visual Description: Spirit of Flight 1959 Bronze Standing man four feet tall with three feet wings on a 2 feet base. Nude except for some fabric across his hips. The figure is sinewy: legs together, standing on his toes, arms raised above his head. Wings extend above his fingertips.