Art-Speak is inventorying the public art in the City of Portsmouth as part of an ongoing effort.  If you are interested in being involved, please contact: info@art-speak.org.

In the early 1990s, the City and Portsmouth residents participated in the national Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!) inventory project.   Through this effort, more than 30,000  publicly accessible outdoor sculptures located around the country were documented and entered into a database kept by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. 

The descriptions of the Portsmouth scultpures below were taken from the research completed by Portsmouth residents and entered into the Smithsonian's database.  Research for more recent sculptures is being conducted by volunteers.

	Black Dolphin, Albacore Park, 600 Market Street Black Dolphin is on the property of the  Port of Portsmouth Maritime Museum & Albacore Park.  It depicts a dolphin emerging from sea foam or waves suggested by roughened stone surrounding abdomen and tail. Dolphin is polished black granite with incised detail (eyes, mouth); rectangular base is grey granite. Artist:  Cabot Lyford (1925- ) Materials: Sculpture: black granite; Base: grey granite. Installation: 1987.
	Fisherman's Luck, Prescott Park, Marcy Street Fisherman's Luck was commissioned by The Trustees of Portsmouth's Trust Funds.  The sculpture is a favorite climbing spot for children visiting the park. According Ray Brighton's "The Prescott Story," the sculpture was carved from Australian granite left over from another Portsmouth sculpture, My Mother the Wind. Artist:  Cabot Lyford (1925- ) Materials: black granite or Australian dark gray granite, partially polished; Base: polished gray granite. Installation: August 1979.
	General Fitz John Porter, Haven Park, Junkins Avenue Fitz John Porter (1822-1901), who served in both the Mexican War and in the Civil War, was born in Portsmouth in the Hatch House.   Porter's loyal friend R. H. Eddy bequeathed $30,000 to the City of Portsmouth for a bronze equestrian monument to honor him. Artist: James Edward Kelly, (1855-1933) Material: Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite, with bronze reliefs. Installation: 1904.
under construction	My Mother the Wind, Pierce Island My Mother the Wind was commissioned by The Trustees of Portsmouth's Trust Funds.  The sculpture is a personification of the wind that carried Europeans to the New World and that brought people and prosperity to Portsmouth.  Some controversy arose over the cost of the sculpture and the fact that Australian granite, shipped to New Hampshire, "The Granite State," was used and not black granite quarried in nearby North Berwick, Maine. Artist:  Cabot Lyford (1925- ) Materials: black granite or Australian dark gray granite, partially polished; Base: polished gray granite. Installation: August 1975.
	Soldiers' Monument, Goodwin Park, Islington/State Streets Dedicated Oct. 20, 1871, the Soldiers' Monument was funded by the town and cost approximately $7,000.  Sculptor Martin Milmore created the sculpture which was cast by Ames Manufacturing Company.  Arms and Harrington designed the base which was fabricated by Barnes. Artist:  Martin Milmore Materials:  Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite. Installation: Oct. 20, 1871.
under construction	Neptune, Prescott Park, Marcy Street Neptune was given to the City of Portsmouth by Mrs. Louise Folsom Hovey in memory of her son Charles Emerson Hovey who was killed in the Philippines. The fountain was first located on the curb near the Post Office.  Some years later, Mrs. William W. Howells, the niece of Ensign Hovey, campaigned to have it moved to a more prominent location. In 1974, the proposed site of Prescott Park was accepted.  The original marble base of the fountain proved too damaged by the move to retain, so it was decided to abandon the drinking fountain arrangement in favor of a new circular brick basin which was designed by Portsmouth architect, Chester P. Keefe II. Artists:  Unknown (Italian), sculptor; Allen Frederick Warren, 1888-1961, sculptor; Chester P. Keefe, II, architect. Materials: Fountain and relief portrait: bronze; Base: Carrara marble; Basin: red brick and painted concrete. Installation:  Fountain dedicated Aug. 14, 1911 or 1912. Relief portrait cast 1918. Fountain relocated 1976. Fountain rededicated July or August 28, 1976.
	Isle of Shoals Humpbacks, Vaughn Mall (Whaling Wall #37) Artist: Wyland Installation:  Dedicated June 14th, 1993 by Mayor Eileen Foley.