Grammy award winning singer/song writer and Humanitarian Harry Chapin
Photo credit: Aron Taub
STORY OF A LIFE
Larger than Life Bronze
To the Life and Legacy of Harry Chapin
Renowned Sculptor Susan Bahary Creates Bust to Honor Harry Chapin, Her Former Long Island Neighbor, and His Legacy of Fighting Hunger
The Harry Chapin Food Bank commissioned internationally acclaimed artist Susan Bahary to create a larger-than-life bronze bust of the advocate for a hunger-free Long Island and Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, Harry Chapin.
The bust was unveiled July 15, 2022 at a ceremony at Long Island Cares’ Hauppauge headquarters, 10 Davids Drive. Bahary named the piece Story of a Life after the Chapin song.
Long Island Cares has also created a commemorative brick-lined Chapin Legacy Walkway to celebrate Chapin’s 80th birth year and 50TH anniversary of his million-selling single, “Taxi.”
Susan Bahary is best known for her inspiring monuments in bronze to service animals and their handlers. Her noted works include “Sully,” a tribute to the dog who faithfully served President George H.W. Bush and sat watch at his funeral, and “Service and Sacrifice,” created in memory of John Douangdara, lead dog handler for the Navy SEAL Team Six and his war dog Bart, who lost their lives, along with 17 U.S. soldiers, in August 2011 when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan. Her latest sculpture, “Story of a Life,” celebrates an extraordinary human being: Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Harry Chapin.
Commissioned by Long Island Cares, the larger-than-life bust honors the late music icon for his dedication to ending hunger, both around the world and within the New York community he called home.
“We are honoring the legacy of Harry Chapin and his vision for a hunger-free Long Island,” says Katherine M. Fritz, Chief Development and Communications Officer at Long Island Cares. “At the same time, we’re excited to have given our donors the opportunity to be recognized for their commitment to walking in Harry’s footsteps by helping their fellow Long Islanders.”
For Bahary, being asked to sculpt Chapin was an honor that felt very close to her heart. In the 70s, through her high school years and early development an artist, Susan and her family lived in Huntington Bay, Long Island—next door to Harry and Sandy Chapin and their kids. Bahary fondly recalls how Chapin generously offered his time to work with her brother, Gordon, who became a singer-songwriter and music producer in his own right, as well as encouraged her in her pursuit of fine art.
Bahary, who also sings, listens to music—mostly of the 70s—when she sculpts. When she sculpted Chapin, she listened primarily to his music. “The moment Harry’s face and expression seemed to come to life in clay was a very emotionally moving experience,” Bahary shares. “I wanted to capture his beautiful soul and spirit as best I could and a glimpse of him the way he’d look at a performance, at the height of his career. Yet, I hoped to capture not just Harry’s likeness but his kindness, love of life, and hope for humanity.” Bahary chose the name for her sculpture, “Story of a Life,” after Chapin’s song to not only reinforces her subject’s gift to the world as a great storyteller but also her gift to him: “I was telling the story of his life in the art form I know.”
The bust was unveiled July 15, 2022 at the Hauppauge headquarters of Long Island Cares—a foundation Harry Chapin founded with the vision of creating “a hunger-free Long Island.” At the ceremony, Susan Bahary reflected on her years as Chapin’s neighbor and presented her art as a permanent reminder of his passion for ending hunger.
Highlights from the Ceremony
