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Vintage St. Francis of Assisi Hand Carved Wooden Sculpture Ben Ortega Signed 10H

A vintage hand carved wooden St. Francis of Assisi sculpture by artist Ben Ortega. The piece stands 10″ tall and is 3″ in diameter at the base. It is 7 3/4 wide from each outstretched hand. Fantastic carved detail on the face. This charming piece does show some minor wear (please see his right hand). Signed “Ben Ortega, #5″ on bottom. A little about the artist. I tell everybody that Saint Francis didn’t want me to go to California. His carvings are in collections world-wide, yet Ben never planned to be an artist. I used to sit in the kitchen and make little faces. I made two Indians-small pieces-and then I carved a little Saint Francis. Myrtle Stedman [the artist and builder] saw my carvings. She loved them so much I gave her the Indians. I used to work for her, picking apples and peaches when I was a little boy. Born in Tesuque, New Mexico, in 1923 to Isador and Agnes Ortega, Ben and his two brothers and sister were raised by an aunt and uncle. “My mother died in an automobile accident when I was two, ” he said. My father died when I was six. Richard was a U. Army veteran of World War II serving in the Normandy Invasion on Omaha Beach. He was awarded two Bronze Battle Stars and a Bronze Arrowhead. He was a member of First United Methodist Church, Athens Fish and Game Club, and the Retired Teachers Association. He was an avid golfer and fisherman and also enjoyed wooden bird carving.
Vintage St. Francis of Assisi Hand Carved Wooden Sculpture Ben Ortega Signed 10H

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