August 12 – An Evening with Toby Mendez

Join us on the evening of Wednesday, August 12, as we welcome acclaimed sculptor Toby Mendez to speak at the National Road Museum about his career, notably the works he has created for the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, the Clara Barton monument near Hagerstown City Park, and the George Washington sculpture being unveiled in Hagerstown this coming September.

George Washington was an originator of the National Road idea, and our county was the first in the nation to be named in his honor!

About the Artist

Antonio Tobias (“Toby”) Mendez is a Maryland-based sculptor with over 40 years of experience creating significant public artworks across the United States. Born in Colorado in 1963, he spent much of his early childhood in Japan and Thailand before moving with his family to Maryland in 1974. There, he developed his artistic foundation through the state’s Gifted and Talented program for young artists, committing to sculpture as his career path at age sixteen.

After high school, Mendez apprenticed under Academy Award–winning makeup sculptor John Chambers before continuing his studies at the Art Institute of Chicago. There he mastered traditional bronze casting techniques practiced by sculptors and fine art foundries for centuries, enabling him to cast his own work early in his career and begin accepting commissions. While still in art school he took a sabbatical in Spain, where he contributed to his first monument. This and his training in bronze casting helped launch Mendez’s trajectory as a nationally recognized public artist. Today, his large-scale public installations can be found throughout the country.

In addition to his notable works in Boston at Fenway Park of The Teammates and Carl Yastrzemski, Mendez’s major commissions include the Thurgood Marshall Memorial, Annapolis, MD; Danny Thomas and the Children of St. Jude in Memphis, TN; the six Baltimore Orioles Legends at Oriole Park at Camden Yards; the Maggie Lena Walker Memorial Richmond, VA; the Major Taylor monument in Worcester, MA; and work for the United States Navy Memorial, Washington, DC

A full portfolio of his work is available at tobymendezstudios.com.

Selection of Works by Toby Mendez

Dedicated Public and Corporate Commissions

• The Loonis McGlohon Tribute, Charlotte Trail of History, Charlotte, North Carolina. A seven-foot bronze figure of the Jazz composer seated on a stone bench. Dedicated May 2024
• The Clara Barton Memorial, The Cultural Trail, Hagerstown, Maryland. Commissioned by the Clara Barton Memorial Committee.  The Civil War nurse and fallen soldier, 170% life-size (10 and 11ft scale) bronze with granite base.  Dedicated May 2024.
• Lefty Kreh Memorial, Culler Lake in Baker Park, Frederick, Maryland, eight-foot scale bronze figure, dedicated October 2023.
• Mayor Ed Lee Portrait (bas relief),  San  Francisco Airport 5ft  x 5ft bronze relief  Dedicated 2022
• Tribute to Shirley Povich and Walter Johnson, Shirley Povich Baseball Field, Cabin John Maryland. T wo life – size Bronze Figures.   Dedicated 2021
• B. King , B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, Indianola, MS, a life – size bronze figure . Dedicated 2021
• Thomas Kennedy Memorial, Hagerstown Maryland, Seven Foot figure and small plaza. Dedicated 2019
• Tuskegee Airman Captain Howard Baugh, Black History Museum Richmond,Virginia, A life -size bronze figure.  Dedicated 2018
• Maggie Lena Walker Memoria l Park, Richmond, Virginia, City of Richmond A Ten- foot bronze figure and three bronze bas reliefs and Plaza. Dedicated 2017
• Portrait of David Crockett, Tennessee State Capitol Building, Nashville, Tennessee, A twice life size bronze portrait bust. Dedicated 2016
• Johns Hopkins Coach Bob Scott, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore Maryland,  A seven – foot bronze figure. 2016
• Portrait of Colonel Morgan, Grand Valley International Airport, Harlingen,  Texas, A life – size bronze portrait bust.  Dedicated 2016
• President Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site, Wilcox Mansion a National Park Service, President Theodore Roosevelt, Buffalo, New York, A seven-and-a-half-foot tall bronze figure. 2015
• Trail of History, William Henry Belk, Charlotte, NC, A seven-foot bronze figure, Dedicated 2015
• Washington County Free Library, Our Journey Transports Us Through Time, Hagerstown, Maryland, A six foot by twelve – foot bronze bas relief.  Dedicated 2015
• Carroll County Public Library, Our Family Farm, Westminster, Maryland, A five foot by ten -foot bronze bas relief Dedicated 2014       .
• Boston Red Sox, Carl Yastrzemski, Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts. An eight-foot-tall bronze figure.
• Grand Rapids Community Legends, Mayor Lyman Parks, Grand Rapids,      A 7ft. tall bronze figure and pedestal.  Dedicated 2013
• The Angel, Congressional Cemetery, Washington DC, Private Commission of a small standing angel. Bronze six feet tall.   Dedicated 2013
• University of Maryland, Lefty Driesell, Comcast Center, College Park, Md. A four foot by six-foot bronze bas relief portrait.  Dedicated 2013
• The John Hanson National Memorial, Frederick County Courthouse, Frederick, Maryland. A Seven-foot bronze figure on a granite base. Dedicated 2012
• Baltimore Orioles Baseball Club, Camden Yards, Baltimore, Md. Six over life-size (ranging from 7ft.-8 ft.) of the six Orioles Hall of Fame Members, Dedicated 2012.
• Montgomery County, Maryland “Veterans Plaza” 15 bronze bas reliefs with three glass artwork panels, Dedicated 2011
• ALSACE, Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee. Danny Thomas and the Children, an 8 ft. bronze figure of Danny Thomas and three over life-size Children.  Dedicated 2011
• National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia, Pa. Bronze Portrait of benefactor and philanthropist Sidney Kimmel
• Grand Rapids Community Legends, Chief Noonday (Noahquagesik), Grand Rapids, Michigan.  A 7ft. tall bronze figure and pedestal.   Dedicated 2010
• Ernest Everett Just Foundation, Ernest Everett Just Middle School, Prince Georges County, Maryland. A 7ft. bronze figure.  Dedicated 2010
• Boston Red Sox, The Teammates, Fenway Park, Boston Massachusetts. Four over life-size bronze figures. Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, Dom Dimaggio.Dedicated 2010
• A Perfect Moment in Time, Monument to Coach Don Shula and the 1972 Dolphins 17-0, Miami Gardens, Florida. A grouping of three over life-size bronze figures, each 7ft tall. 2010
• The Major Taylor Association Inc., ‘Tribute to Marshall “Major” Taylor”, Worcester, Massachusetts. Memorial includes an over life-size figure with a 7 1/2 foot by 10 bronze relief and a 4ft.x8 ft. relief.  Memorial design.   Dedicated 2008
• The Calvert Marine Museum, “The Cradle of Invasion Monument, On Watch”, Solomons Island, Maryland. An eight-foot bronze figure.  2007
• Carl Moultrie Courthouse, DC Family Court, “Reach Just a Little Bit Higher”, Washington DC. Four life-size bronze figures with two glass panel designs.    2007
• University of Maryland Baltimore County, “A Tribute to Walter Sondheim” Baltimore, Maryland. A life-size bronze portrait figure and small plaza.  2005
• Vandenberg Memorial Committee, “Senator Arthur Vandenberg Memorial”, Grand Rapids, Michigan. A nine-foot bronze figure.  2005
• City of Alexandria, “Captain Rocky Versace Plaza and Vietnam Veterans Memorial”, Alexandria, Virginia. Three life-size bronze figures, including plaza design. Dedicated 2002
• United States Navy Memorial Foundation, United States Navy Memorial, Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC. Three bronze reliefs.   1992 and 2001
• Canal Place C&O Canal Commemorative Monument, “Mule and Handler”, Cumberland, Maryland. A life-size bronze mule and a life size boy. Dedicated 2000
• Shanti Fund “The Mohandas K.Gandhi Memorial”, H. Lee Dennison County Office Building, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. Six-foot bronze figure. Dedicated 2000
• Warwick Quahogger, A Days Catch”, Warwick, Rhode Island. A bronze life-size figure and dog, with fishing implements and granite fountain.  1998
• The Texas Rangers Baseball Club “Monuments to Nolan Ryan and Mayor Tom Vandergriff”, Arlington, Texas. An eight-foot bronze figure of the Hall of Fame pitcher and a 7’3” figure of the former Mayor.    1997
• The State of Maryland Governor’s Commission, “Thurgood Marshall Memorial, Equal Justice Under Law”, State House Grounds, Annapolis, Maryland. A heroic scale 7 1/2-foot-tall bronze figure, three life-size bronze figures and a 50’x60’ plaza design.   Dedicated 1996
• Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, “You Can Fly”, Norfolk, Virginia. Five life-size bronze figures of children.      Dedicated 1995
• Friends of Annmarie Gardens “A Tribute to the Oyster Tonger, A Chesapeake Waterman”, Solomons Island, Maryland.  A 7 1/2-foot bronze figure, 50’ Diameter Granite Fountain. Dedicated 1994