COMPANION SCULPTURES BY YEAR
- 1996 — Grant Wood’s famous “American Gothic” (honoring Iowa’s Sesquicentennial)
- 1997 — Elvis Presley
- 1998 — An American eagle
- 1999 — Duffy’s own version of Leonardo DaVinci’s “The Last Supper”
- 2000 — Christian Peterson sculpting “The Gentle Doctor” statue (Petersen was Duffy’s mentor and teacher).
- 2001— John Wayne
- 2002 — The Peanuts Gang
- 2003 — A Harley-Davidson motorcycle (in honor of the company’s 100th anniversary)
- 2004 — A birthday cake in honor of the Fair’s Sesquicentennial and an Iowa barn
- 2005 — Tiger Woods
- 2006 — “Mr. State Fair” Bill Riley (in honor of his 60th Fair) and Superman (Norwalk, Iowa, native Brandon Routh)
- 2007 — Harry Potter
- 2008 — Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson and a tribute to four Iowans who changed the face of the world’s agriculture: Etta May Budd, George Washington Carver, Henry Wallace and Norman Borlaug
- 2009 — A tribute to the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon
- 2010 —Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham (in honor of its 50th anniversary)
- 2011 — A replica of the 1911 butter cow sculptures, including a calf, young boy and chicken. A sculpture of a young girl with a butterfly was added as a tribute to Norma “Duffy” Lyon.
- 2012 — Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Disney film)
- 2013 — A tribute to the Historic Lincoln Highway (and President Lincoln)
- 2014 — A celebration of the 25th anniversary of Field of Dreams
- 2015 — A celebration of the 80th anniversary of Monopoly
- 2016 — A celebration of the 50th anniversary of Star Trek
- 2017 — A celebration of the 150th birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder and a replica of the Solheim Cup as the tournament visited Des Moines.
- 2018 — A celebration of the 100th anniversary of John Deere entering the tractor business with a replica of the Waterloo Boy Tractor.
- 2019 — A celebration of 50 years of Sesame Street.
- 2021 — A celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Giant Slide.
- 2022 — A celebration of the 60th year of The Music Man in film history
About the 2022 Butter Cow and Companion Sculpture
"76 Trombones" is definitely a memorable song and perhaps the first that comes to mind when thinking about "The Music Man." Sculptor Sarah Pratt's own "music man" remembers playing in the pit orchestra in his high school's production of "The Music Man." Since Andy plays the trombone, the trombone player will be modeled after him.
Drew Minard is the only Iowan in the current Broadway revival of "The Music Man."
As research for the sculpture, Sarah and her sister, Megan Doyle, took her daughters and apprentices Hannah and Grace to New York City to watch the Broadway revival. The show was high energy and thoroughly delightful.
They were excited to meet Drew Minard and returned to sculpting with an energy injected with the enthusiasm of this latest revival of the American classic.
Did You Know?
Mason City is the hometown of the famous musician, composer, playwright and writer. Born in 1902, Meredith Willson would be 120 years old this year.
Willson is best known for his smash hit, "The Music Man." The musical opened on Broadway in 1957, 65 years ago, and was inspired by his boyhood experiences in Iowa.
Visit his childhood home and museum in Mason City to see first hand Meredith Willson's creative genius and life's work.
Enjoy the 1912 replica streetscape, just like the 1962 movie version of "The Music Man" and even visit the ice cream parlor.
Meredith Willson played the flute and piccalo, which were delivered to him in Mason City...you guessed it, on the Wells Fargo Wagon.
The piccalo player in the butter sculpture is the likeness of Meredith Willson.