Candlestick Park
Gate A
Jamestown Avenue
St Francis by Ruth Wakefield Cravath – 1971-1973
The sculpture is a standing abstract figure representing St. Francis, the patron saint of San Francisco. The figure is made of concrete, but the face, torso, halo, cross, and lower section of his robe are made of colored pieces of Plexiglas. The halo is gold; the face and torso are turquoise; the cross is red, and the lower section of the robe is gold. The sculpture is installed on a low base in the middle of the bus area at the stadium.
Ruth Wakefield Cravath is known for her civic sculptures, busts, and bas-reliefs. She was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1902. Cravath attended public high school in Chicago and took summer classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. She went on to attend college at Grinnell, Iowa, for one year before returning to Chicago where she enrolled in drawing and design classes. Her parents moved to California in 1921 and Cravath followed soon after. She studied for the next three years at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco where she received praise for her student artwork. She learned sculpting techniques from Beniamino Bufano and Ralph Stackpole. By 1926 she was an established artist and was invited to conduct art classes of her own at the California School of Fine Arts. Her work was exhibited in the 1927 Annual Exhibit of the San Francisco Society of Women Artists. She married Sam Bell Wakefield III in 1928 and continued to teach sculpture at the CSFA and later at Mills College in Oakland in 1945. As a teacher and an artist, she became famous for her use of the direct cut method of sculpting, carving and chiseling without mechanical assistance. She was an active exhibitor at the San Francisco Art Association between 1922 and 1932 and also exhibited at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor (1933) and the San Francisco Museum of Art (1937). In 1937 she was appointed to the board of the Art Commission of San Francisco. She was commissioned to do three large figures for the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco in 1939. Cravath died in Paulsbo, Washington in 1986.
Sadly you can not get to see the sculpture without a ticket.
UPDATE FEBRUARY 1, 2015
With the demolition of Candlestick Park the statue will be placed into storage, as city officials seek a new home for the artwork. It has been said that it will be moved from the ballpark and refurbished. The estimated cost of the project is expected to range from $150,000 to $200,000. We will bring you the new location as soon as we learn.
FURTHER UPDATE November 2015
This was a motion in the September 15, 2015, SFAC Meeting Minutes “Motion to approve the de-installation and removal to storage of St. Francis, 1973 by Ruth Wakefield Cravath, a concrete and Plexiglas sculpture, approximately 27 feet high x 10 feet wide x 10 feet deep, (SFAC Accession Number 1973.27) commissioned for Candlestick Park and currently located at 490 Jamestown Avenue.
Apparently the piece is headed for Hunter’s Point sometime in 2018. There is now no discussion about refurbishing the piece, but moving it to Oakland, California for the duration.
As of July 2018 it is still not in the public eye.