George Anthonisen is a sculptor whom I greatly respect. For over six decades, in close partnership with his wife Ellen, Anthonisen has made the world of humans more beautiful and meaningful. As two authorities on his sculpture have put it: 

"Anthonisen’s images both engage and express the totality of the human person ⎯ body, mind, and spirit. While they are vehicles of cultural, social, and moral commentary, they are marvels of formal conception and design."   Donald Martin Reynolds, Art Historian and Author

"The artist seems to say that art exists to make the world more beautiful, that it tests our capacities for thinking and feeling, and that, most importantly, it challenges us to empathize with a world that exists around us, with people who have experienced sufferings and joys we will never know. Anthonisen’s art is to make people look at each other and to see themselves." John Zarobell, Assistant Professor and Program Chair for European Studies, University of San Francisco

George sat for me for five summer mornings, in the glow of the diffused light and clutter of the sculpture studio he built with his father many years ago.  I sculpted his portrait, intent on capturing his depth of experience, inner strength, compassion and vision.