His sculptures include two Illini icons — Red Grange and Dick Butkus.
But it was a lesser-known Illini who’s at least partly responsible for the success George Lundeen has achieved in his 50-year career, from sculpting Benjamin Franklin on a bench at the University of Pennsylvania to, more recently, designing The Defiance Monument (showing a certain someone with a raised fist in Butler, Pa.), now on display at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
Lundeen, who earned his master’s from the UI’s College of Fine + Applied Arts in 1973, shared his story from Loveland, Colo., as he prepared to head back to campus to receive the 2024 Alumni Achievement Award.
“While at Nebraska’s Hastings College, I began sculpting. One day, while reading the articles in Playboy magazine, I ran across an article illustrated by a sculptor. I remember asking my professor about sculpting realistic/figurative work. He said: ‘That guy in the magazine is doing it; I guess you can too.’
“I then called Playboy’s home office and spoke to a fellow named Art Wall, Playboy’s art director. He in turn gave me Frank Gallo’s home number. I called Frank, he told me to send him some slides of my work and a couple weeks later, he had secured an assistantship, which enabled me to attend the University of Illinois.
“Although not that simple, that is how I got to Champaign-Urbana and found Frank Gallo. He continued to be my mentor all through my graduate work at Illinois. His family became my family and the influence he had on my work can still be seen 50 years later.
“Through the years, our friendship continued. Frank’s support, wisdom, expertise and friendship could always be counted on. Nearly every time my travels brought me cack to campus, I would grab Frank and we would head back to the DeLuxe. After that closed, Frank always knew of another establishment worthy of our time.
“I’m proud to have known Frank Gallo — I loved his work, his family and his friendship."
