John C. Fremont
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Donated in memory of the artist by his wife and family to the Local History area of the Fremont Main Library. A small unveiling ceremony was held at the library on September 8, 2008. Rex. E. Smith grew up in Manhattan, Kansas and graduated from high school in St. Joe, Missouri.
Rex met his future wife Barbara while attending the Naval pre-flight school at St. Mary’s College in Moraga. They spent their first few years of marriage living in the Cordonecis Housing Project in Albany. There Rex developed an interest in John C. Fremont when he met one of his neighbors – the great grandson of General Fremont also named John C. Fremont or “Jack”.
Rex was accomplished in painting, stained glass and wood carving, but had a special talent for clay sculpture. The Fremont bust was sculpted in the mid 60’s. To ensure its durability as a public art display the bust was recently bronzed – a process which surprisingly revealed several additional pieces of detail in the work, including the artist’s signature. Artist: Rex E. Smith
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