Places in the Art

“After Shopping” is a life-size bronze sculpture created by Bruno Lucchesi in 1979.

I reached out to Mr. Lucchesi and he told me, “Mr. George J. Ablah purchased this life-size bronze sculpture for his Willowbend Golf Club. At the first tee, then, Wichita obtained it with Babs Mellor‘s help and the city placed it in front of the Museum of World Treasures, dedicated on August 25, 1993.”

It used to be located at the Old Town Farm and Art Market but was moved to the front of CityArts. I always loved seeing the statue because after walking all over Old Town, I felt like I could relate to an exhausted mom and daughter.

The sculpture shows a mother and her daughter, exhausted after shopping, resting in a chair. The mother, whose shoes have slipped off, cradles her barefoot daughter, asleep in her lap. A shopping bag full of items hangs off the side of the chair.  There was always a part of me that wanted to tickle the girl’s foot, just to hear her giggle.

Bruno Lucchesi was born in 1926, an Italian American sculptor known for his figurative work.

Lucchesi was born in Lucca, Italy. As a youth, he helped his family by herding sheep. He studied at the Art Institute of Lucca, then moved to Florence, Italy where he became Assistant Professor at Florence University in 1953. In 1958 he moved to New York City and taught at the National Academy of Design and the New School of Social Research. 

Lucchesi’s art usually shows people waiting, sleeping, or just going about their daily lives.  According to the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s bio of Lucchesi, the artist, “portrays the mannerisms characteristic of their activities. Catching a brief expression of boredom, the momentary gesture of a yawn, or the fluid movement of a woman hanging out wash, Lucchesi achieves a balance between sympathy and caricature that is at once poetic and immediate, and often humorous.”

Wichita’s “After Shopping” was dedicated to former City Manager Chris Cherches.

“After Shopping” is a silent narrator of life’s simple moments and the unspoken bonds we share. Standing before it, you can’t help but feel part of a larger story, a shared history immortalized in bronze. It’s a reminder to cherish the beauty in the everyday, the strength found in moments of rest, and the laughter that comes when least expected.

Special thanks to Mr. Lucchesi for his assistance in completing this article.

To learn about Wichita’s art pieces check out How great our art