BU Today feature: Acclaimed Sculptor Lloyd Lillie Dies
This article originally appeared in BU Today on July 13, 2020.
Lloyd Lillie was an acclaimed sculptor whose works and commissions—bronze sculptures of John Adams, Abigail and John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Booker T. Washington, and other prominent figures in US history—appear across the nation and around the world.
Lillie’s biggest commission was The First Wave, a 20-figure sculpture that represented the first women’s rights convention in 1848, for the visitor center at the Women’s Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, N.Y. His public commissions also included two 20th-century Boston legends: the late Celtics coach Arnold “Red” Auerbach and Mayor James Michael Curley.
A College of Fine Arts professor emeritus of art, Lillie died February 23, 2020. He was 87.
He was a member of the BU faculty for 34 years, a professor of art for 21 of them. He remained in touch with many of his former students, several of whom worked with him on his commissions.