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Naperville
Friday, March 29, 2024

‘Joe Naper’ is coming to town

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Legendary Dick Tracy comic strip artist designed new sculpture depicting Naperville’s founder

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As all the pieces have come together at Naper Homestead in recent years, you just get the feeling that risk-taking Captain Joe Naper would’ve been pleased at the spirit of collaboration.

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While we watched, artist Dick Locher shortened the flowing coat on the maquette depicting an image of Captain Joe Naper, the city’s founder.
Back on Nov. 10, 2011, we visited with local resident and artist Dick Locher and his wife, Mary, in his studio, a cozy room equipped with a computer and all of his handy design tools.

Earlier that month, Locher had been present at the dedication of the Naper Homestead when then-Executive Director of Naper Settlement, Peggy Frank, shared plans of an ambitious initiative to erect a larger-than-life-size figure of Captain Naper. During the ceremony, Frank unveiled a large colorful sketch of the work drawn by Locher and told the large audience that Locher would be the designer.

In his studio, the master artist of many media, best known for his Dick Tracy comic strips and Chicago Tribune political cartoons, was busy sculpting a likeness of  Captain Joe Naper into a maquette, the beginning model in the long process that one day would become a bronze sculpture of the city’s namesake.

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Dick Locher joked that some tools for sculpting also can be used for correcting mistakes in writing, too.

Narrating the process while he cut a little here, pressed there, the good-humored Locher demonstrated some of his trade secrets such as a No. 2 yellow pencil with an eraser to smooth out the wax on the figure.

The finished artwork produced by Jeff Adams, owner of inBronze in Mt. Morris, Illinois, has been in the works for months. Now the artist that brought the image to life will bring it to the Naper Homestead, located at Jefferson and Mill streets, where it will stand for perpetuity.

In 2006, the city purchased the homestead site from a local resident during its 175th anniversary. The sculpture, funded by a number of grants, including one from the State of Illinois, will be dedicated on Fri., Aug. 23, on the 151st anniversary of Joe Naper’s death.

Just as the 9-ft. Dick Tracy sculpture near the Moser Covered Bridge along the Riverwalk, the new sculpture will become part of the Century Walk outdoor art collection in pubic places.

Note: Sculptor Jeff Adams also created “Symbiotic Sojourn” in Main Street Promenade and “Two in a Million” in Fredenhagen Park, also for the Century Walk. Adams’ foundry also cast the Horse Market sculpture near the Pre-Emption House.

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Back in 2011, Dick Locher and his wife, Mary, provided a tour of the studio and how the computer is a big part of his design team.

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Street closures ready the way for Joe Naper sculpture to be set

The weather cooperated beautifully for the Joe Naper sculpture to arrive mid-morning, Aug. 9, at the corner of Mill Street and Jefferson where streets were closed to through traffic due to the installation of the sculpture depicting the city’s founder at the Naper Homestead site.

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As all the pieces have come together at Naper Homestead in recent years, you just get the feeling that risk-taking Captain Joe Naper would’ve been pleased at the spirit of collaboration.

Framed under the big boots of the Joe Naper sculpture, Pulitzer prize-winning designer Dick Locher, right, watched the installation along with Naper Settlement Curator of Research Bryan Ogg. Dozens of residents were on hand to learn how it happens while sculptor Jeff Davis from inBronze readied the area and the tall 1,500 pound bronze sculpture for installation.

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InBronze sculptor Jeff Adams readies the artwork, one step at a time.

Members from the Department of Public Works assisted from the get-go, operating the large crane to hoist two pieces of artwork into their prominent resting places on the site, located at the southeast corner of Mill Street and Jefferson Avenue.

No Parking Notice / Dedication Aug. 23

In addition, subsequent installation-related activities will require the parking spaces on northbound Mill Street between Jackson and Jefferson avenues to be closed from August 9 to August 22. The unveiling and dedication of the sculpture, which honors Naperville’s founder, will take place at 4PM on Fri., Aug. 23 at Naper Homestead; the public is invited and encouraged to attend.

For more information on the City of Naperville, visit www.naperville.il.us.

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PN Editor
PN Editor
An editor is someone who prepares content for publishing. It entered English, the American Language, via French. Its modern sense for newspapers has been around since about 1800.

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