Elizabeth MacQueen

Sculpture & Fine Art

“A day that moved the conscience of our United States…”

10:22AM SEPTEMBER 15TH, 1963

Four young girls were killed, and many other children injured, in a racially motivated bombing before Sunday morning church services in Birmingham, Alabama.

Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson

A Solemn Public Memorial

When Elizabeth MacQueen was asked to build a sculpture memorializing one of the most infamous tragedies in Alabama history, the emotional gravity of the project was not lost on her. A Birmingham native herself, Elizabeth was well aware of the region’s history of inequality and injustice. She knew that many of the visitors of the memorial were active participants in the civil rights movement, in Birmingham, during the 1960s. This was her opportunity to play a small part in a monumental struggle.

The Four Spirits

Building ‘The Four Spirits’

The public memorial began as a concept proposed by a volunteer nonprofit committee and made a reality in about four months. Elizabeth worked and lived tirelessly at a foundry in the Berkeley, California, area, and completed the sculpture in about four months. A work of that scale usually takes about three times as long.

“I know the hard work that has gone into this effort. I know the work of the committee that first came up with the idea of commissioning the project. I know the hard work in raising the funds to have the resources to make it and then the selection…of this lovely young lady to go forward and actually build the sculpture. … There were a lot of roadblocks and barriers, but as always, God found a way to make it happen.” William Bell

Birmingham Mayor

Unveiling ‘The Four Spirits’

On September, 14, 2013, almost 50 years to the day since the tragedy, the steel and bronze sculpture was unveiled. Hundreds of people gathered around Kelly Ingram Park crowded to see the new public memorial.

The Four Spirits

: 16th Baptist Memorial

: Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham Alabama

: The Four Spirits

: Unveiling The Four Spirits

: The Four Spirits

Some pictures courtesy of MilesGeek.com

Visit ‘The Four Spirits’

Press Coverage

Four Spirits: The Memorial Commemorating the 1963 Bombing in Birmingham Alabama

One day before the 50th anniversary of one of the most infamous events in Alabama history, statues of the four girls who lost their lives in that event were unveiled. Watch the Emmy Award-winning CBS documentary about this work by Elizabeth MacQueen.

More News Coverage >