By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society
Sausalito sculptor John Libberton, who passed away last summer shortly after celebrating his 96th birthday, led a long and productive life. Born in New Jersey, John grew up in Chicago and studied art there. A February 1984 article in this paper noted: “The fragrance of oil and turpentine was familiar in the Libberton household. John’s mother was a designer and continued to paint most of her life.” John developed a variety of talents, including graphic design, painting, photography, jewelry-making, sculptural constructions as well as sculpture.
The Marinscope article continues: “This pursuit is in addition to, and at times an extension of, an active 30-plus year career as art director/television film producer for a major international advertising agency. Libberton participated in Chicago area sculpture shows from 1967-1978 and served as Chairman of the All-Illinois Sculpture Show.” John told the Historical Society’s Lauri Flynn that his artistic pursuits were put on hold during World War II when he enlisted (after lying about his age, according to rumor), and served as an airplane mechanic.
His advertising career brought him to California, and he moved to Sausalito in 1978. Upon retirement he took up sculpting and became an active member of the Marin Society of Artists. As Marinscope reported, “Though he works in stone, wood and bronze his preference is marble. His forms are abstract and a synthesis of the geometric and organic. Many are centered on the human figure or retain an inherent association with it. All are in attempt to draw the observer to a special appreciation of form, line and surface.”
In 1993, Sausalito’s Centennial year, the Sausalito Foundation and Friends of the Art Festival commissioned a special public art project that combined the talents of John and ceramicist Edith Heath. His stainless-steel sculpture Bolinar is mounted on a base and set with ceramic tile work from Heath. The 14-foot high, six-ton piece stands today on the triangle island at the intersection of Bridgeway, Napa and Caledonia streets — a point where the residential, business and waterfront areas of the town meet. It’s made up of three sail-like triangles that sit in a row, each a different height.
"It is an uplifting, positive statement,” Libberton told Marinscope City Editor Tina Bournazos, who noted he “was careful not to interpret the design further, opting instead to let the public find its own meaning in the piece.”
Bournazos added, “Harkening to the town's reputation as a boating center and to the longtime influence of the Portuguese, the piece’s title, Bolinar, is a Portuguese nautical term meaning ‘close to the wind.’
Even with a name and design fitting to Sausalito, the sculpture needed the Centennial to become a reality. The idea for the project was conceived some six years ago during a conversation between Libberton and Friends of the Festival founder Paul Anderson.”
The Sausalito Foundation funded the sculpture's base and the improvements and landscaping of the triangular island where the sculpture will sit. The Foundation also pledged to maintain the site in perpetuity. “I think of the site as a key entrance to the downtown area and have always wanted to see it enhanced.” said Foundation president Bea Seidler. "The design has a sense of moving forward to it, of moving into the next century,” she observed.
"I am flattered that my work will be included among the few public art works in Sausalito,” said Libberton, who showed his work in every single Sausalito Art Festival since moving here. Heath worked with Libberton and Sausalito Foundation Board Member Don Olsen on the site design. A local architect, Olsen contributed his counsel and expertise to the site planning and landscaping of the project. The Friends of the Festival funded the cost of fabricating the sculpture. The Friends of the Festival and the Sausalito Foundation conducted individual fund-raising campaigns to finance their portions of the project.
Libberton supported the local arts scene in a variety of ways. In the 80s, he created a bronze statuette for the Mill Valley Arts Commission’s Milley awards, recognizing lifetime achievements for artists with roots in Mill Valley.
In 2004, he was in charge of re-installing Al Sybrian’s sea lion statue in the bay off Bridgeway, after it had been toppled and damaged in a New Year's Day storm. His productivity was clear in his license plate: UPNATUM.
He was also part of the group that met at Fred's in the morning for years and called themselves Stammtisch (German for “the regulars”).
Many Sausalitans have left their mark here, but few, if any, are as imposing as John Libberton’s.
COURTESY PHOTO
John Libberton with Bolinar