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Watchful Citizen

A metal bench with a metal man sitting on one side of it while looking around his surroundings.

About the Sculpture

Installed on Seventh and P streets in March of 1994, Watchful Citizen features a friendly, fat, life-size bronze man who is comfortably seated on a bench with a space to sit next to him. The 700 pound bronze man was modeled after a man that Wallace saw in Mexico 23 years prior, and was cast at a foundry in Colorado.

"I hope it will be the kind of sculpture that people climb on and interact with and feel good about, something that people will take pictures of with their kids sitting next to the man," Wallace said a few months before the sculpture was installed.

A metal bench with a metal man sitting on one side of it while looking around his surroundings.

A metal bench in an urban environment, with a metal man sitting on one side of it while looking around his surroundings.

Rotating around the sculpture Watchful Citizen to show the sitting bronze man from all sides

the back of the metal bench with a metal man melded into it. In the background there is many buildings.

About the Artist

Elizabeth 'Betty' Stanley Wallace was a long time art instructor and former head of the art department at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Wallace was born in Mankato, Kansas and earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in fine arts from the University of Nebraska. She co-founded the exhibition space that became the Lux Center for the Arts with Gladys Lux. Wallace also served as president and board member of the Lincoln Art Council, a director of the Nebraska Art Association, and an instructor at UNL. She was a recipient of a mayor's art award for her contribution as an artist and educator.

Additional Information

Historic Haymarket

Length: 5.5 ft.

Width: 3.5 ft.

Height: 4.5 ft.