Unveiling, Reception Set For 'The Boy And Bear' Sculpture

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - An unveiling and a public reception are planned as part of a suburban Detroit arts commission fundraising campaign to recoup money spent on a sculpture displayed at a popular shopping mall for more than 60 years.

The unveiling for people donating to the Free the Bear development campaign will be held Thursday at the Southfield Public Library. The public reception is scheduled Monday.

Southfield acquired artist Marshall Fredericks' "The Boy and Bear" and other public art last year from Northland Center's court-appointed receiver for $500,000. The city borrowed money from different funds.

The sculpture depicts a boy riding on a bear's back and Southfield says it had been at Northland from the mall's 1954 opening to its closing last year.

Its new home will be the library.

The city of Southfield purchased Northland Center in 2015 with plans to demolish the shuttered shopping mall to make the land available for new development.

The 114-acre property was bought for $2.4 million from a court-ordered receiver. Tearing down the structure and cleaning up the land is expected to cost up to $10 million.

 
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