Lot 5565
Andy Cobb (NC), Tall Copper Frog Maiden with Parasol Outdoor Sculpture
Lot Details & Additional Photographs
51 x 31 x 26 in.
Private Collection, Wendell, North Carolina
Andy Cobb fashioned five more large frogs for his first one-man show in Wilmington, North Carolina. This first show also included many copper fish, birds, crabs, shrimp, and sea turtles—thirty pieces in all. The show sold out in two weeks sending Cobb scampering back to his studio to try and manage this new career that had just been launched.
Cobb hand draws each sculpture, then cuts them from sheets of copper. They are then hammered and folded into the desired shape, much like origami. The pieces are then assembled with a brazing process of solid copper usually formed around a steel armature to give them extra strength to last for many years. Last comes the finish, either from a chemically forced patina or a colorful pattern coaxed from the metal using heat.
Cobb is now often referred to as the “Frog Man” due to the hundreds of whimsical, reptilian sculptures he has built for people throughout the country.
“I once wondered if and when I would ever be considered a serious artist. I now realize I’m serious all right, serious about my whimsy. I get several calls and letters each week from people telling me that one of my sculptures made them smile or laugh. What more could anyone ever ask for.”
Cobb lives in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina—a small village on the Atlantic Ocean. His waterfront home is surrounded by graceful, long-legged herons, shorebirds, and other coastal creatures, making it a natural habitat for the subject matter of his sculptures.
Some expected surface weathering and soiling from outdoor display; overall good estate condition.
