The Mary Poppins Effect: Carousel Horses with a Life of Their Own

As I spend more time in Kirkland getting to know the city, it makes me happy to see so much public art. Even driving through downtown or along Lakeshore Drive, it’s easy to see art everywhere in various shapes and forms. Who doesn’t smile at the cow that lives at the intersection of Central Way and Lake Street South?

I spent some time looking at Carousel recently. A large, blocky sculpture of figures on carousel horses that stands outside the Kirkland Library’s front doors. Although not extremely detailed, the sculpture exudes a sense of whimsy. A horse, a lion, and a wolf all bound forward; the latter holding a book. What strikes me as unique is the sculpture’s main subject, which is not the library, nor is it the child riding the carousel horse; it’s the parents who stand in the center of the sculpture, deep in conversation. The singular child rider heads off into the future without looking back, stylized hair and all!

The block-like forms of the figures and animals, as well as the overall conception of the piece are stereotypically Richard S. Beyer, who is best known for his sculpture Waiting for the Interurban, situated in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. This sculpture, comprised of numerous figures and a lone dog is often dressed-up for special occasions, including birthdays and baseball games. Likewise, Beyer, who is a Washington native, has created a wealth of sculptures for locations across the state, including 1990’s The Kiss, at Percival Landing in Olympia, (not to be confused by Gustave Klimt’s The Kiss, of course!).

Kirkland also has a second Beyer sculpture, The Fisherman, located in Waverly Park. Both sculptures were gifts of the Shinstrom Family and are bronze with a patina that looks similar to aluminum. This material also adds to the light-hearted nature of the work. It is as if the interiors of aluminum cans have been fused together to create a large public sculpture. Each work has been standing in Kirkland for over a decade. The Carousel was dedicated in 1995 and The Fisherman in 1998.

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Jayme Yahr is the exhibitions director at the .