Three bronze bears now anchor a seating area outside Allianz Field, adding a new work to the public-art collection taking shape in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood. Scottish sculptor Andy Scott and Dr. Bill McGuire unveiled the set, named the ButterBears, this week outside Midway Diner and Picco Pizza and Gelateria, between the stadium and the United Village hotel still under construction.
The mama bear stands nine feet tall and weighs more than two tons; each cub weighs more than 500 pounds, according to Pioneer Press. The bears carry patterns based on 11 butterfly species native to Minnesota. The newspaper reported that the motif reflects McGuire’s conservation work and that he helped choose the species represented.
McGuire, a Minnesota United team owner turned United Village developer, commissioned the sculpture and gave it its name. The Pioneer Press reported that Scott proposed adding butterflies, while architect and project manager Hanneke Scott-van Wel selected the species and checked her choices with McGuire. Scott described the work as intended for a younger audience, with lighter subject matter than some of his other sculptures.
From a Los Angeles Studio to St. Paul
Scott designed the bears at his Los Angeles studio; they were cast at a foundry in Scotland and shipped to the Twin Cities for installation. The Pioneer Press reports that Scott has made roughly 10 trips to the Twin Cities over the past three years or more for public-art installations. He returned to Midway Diner this week for breakfast with McGuire before the unveiling…