Cherry/Guardino in Fremont in Alameda County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Douglas Tilden

The sculptor of Bear Hunt

Photographed by Joseph Alvarado, June 24, 2023

1. Douglas Tilden Marker

Inscription. The sculptor of Bear Hunt, Douglas Tilden, was born on May 1, 1860, the day the California School for the Deaf first opened its doors in San Francisco. He became deaf at the age of four from scarlet fever. An 1879 graduate of CSD, Berkeley, he taught at the school and then studied sculpture in New York and Paris. He was the first California-born sculptor to receive recognition outside the United States.

Dubbed “the Father of Sculpture on the Pacific Coast” by Bay Area artists, Tilden also taught sculpture at what is now the San Francisco Art Institute. He was active in the deaf community and died at the age of 75 in 1935. Several of his sculptures are on permanent display in San Francisco and Berkeley.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Arts, Letters, Music. A significant historical date for this entry is May 1, 1860.

Location. 37° 33.551′ N, 121° 57.79′ W. Marker is in Fremont, California, in Alameda County. It is in Cherry/Guardino. It can be reached from Gallaudet Drive north of Stevenson Boulevard, on the right when traveling north. The plaque is at the base of the statue, next to the roundabout at

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the end of the entrance to the California School For the Deaf. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 39350 Gallaudet Drive, Fremont CA 94538, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in California’s San Francisco Bay Area

and on the Coast Ranges.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Mormon Pioneers / Mormon Pioneer Adobes (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Shinn Family Nursery and Ranch (approx. one mile away); Site of First Post Office (approx. 1.3 miles away); Pioneer Schoolhouse & Chapel (approx. 1.4 miles away); Paths Through a Varied Landscape (approx. 1.4 miles away); Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad (approx. 1.4 miles away); “The Bankers Building” (approx. 1½ miles away); The Chadbourne Carriage House

Photographed by Joseph Alvarado, June 24, 2023

2. Douglas Tilden Marker

(approx. 1½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fremont.

Regarding Douglas Tilden. The sculpture was the subject of a petition to have it removed from the California School for the Deaf because, "he remains a white male from the 19th century and the sculpture still represents generations of dehumanizing violence towards Native American communities." Does the artist's gender and race, and the sculpture, elicit the same emotions for you?

Also see . . . Artist Douglas Tilden. Smithsonian American Art Museum

"He graduated from the Institute for the Deaf and Dumb and Blind in Berkeley in 1879 and became a teacher there for the next eight years. The artist's interest in sculpture did not develop until his early twenties, but his immediate talent in creating graceful compositions soon won him an award to study in New York City and Paris. These thirteen months, including five months as a student of Paul-François Choppin, also a deaf-mute, comprise Tilden's only formal training in sculpture."

(Submitted on August 12, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California.)

<i>Bear Hunt</i> by Douglas Tilden image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Joseph Alvarado, June 24, 2023

3. Bear Hunt by Douglas Tilden

Photographed by Joseph Alvarado, June 24, 2023

4. Bear Hunt by Douglas Tilden

Photographed by Joseph Alvarado, June 24, 2023

5. Bear Hunt by Douglas Tilden

Photographed by Joseph Alvarado, June 24, 2023

6. Bear Hunt by Douglas Tilden

Douglas Tilden image. Click for full size.

7. Douglas Tilden

Credits. This page was last revised on December 8, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 12, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. This page has been viewed 3,124 times since then and 339 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on August 12, 2023, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California.