Samuel Maitin, Untitled

Sam Maitin's involvements in the city's cultural life were so deep he was known as Philadelphia's Mayor of the arts in his lifetime. He served on Woodmere's board of trustees and supported countless other organizations across the city, volunteering time and generously contributing designs for posters, invitations, emblems, mosaics, murals, and even building facades. This is his only monumental sculpture in the city of Philadelphia, although it joins two other smaller works in Woodmere's collection of the same period. In 2016, Woodmere undertook the project of enlarging this work from a small maquette and it is fabricated according to the artist's intent. Birdlike, it reaches upward and spreads its wings. Clean lines, playful color, and simple forms remind us of all that is beautiful in the living environment of nature.