With about a month to go before the installation of the James Surls sculpture at Carbondale’s new roundabout, organizers who also had hoped to create a larger display space for Surls’ work in Carbondale confirmed this month that the idea has been shelved.
“It’s not going to happen,” said local philanthropist Jim Calaway on Monday, regarding the Surls Center for the Visual Arts.
Calaway, a retired petroleum tycoon who is a personal friend with Surls, not only went to bat on behalf of the Surls Center, but also has contributed $100,000 toward the sculpture’s price tag. Calaway’s wife, Connie, and Sue Edelstein, raised the $130,000 needed to complete the $230,000 deal.
Surls, an internationally renowned artist whose work can be found in a vast number of museums and other venues, agreed that the Surls Center plans are not being pursued.
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