NORTHAMPTON — Beloved artist Greg Stone’s last gift to the city was everything the community needed: Hope, he called it.
The artist was working on the sculpture, unveiled Friday during a ceremony on the lawn of the Hampshire County Courthouse, when he was diagnosed with colon cancer earlier this year. He completed the project shortly before his death on Sept. 29.
“It’s a testament to his strength that he finished it,” said Hampshire Council of Governments Director Todd Ford, who led the ceremony attended by more than 100 people on the chilly afternoon.
“I’m not surprised at the turnout because Northampton has always been supportive of the arts, and of Greg,” said Micky Boisvert, a former agent for the late artist, whose work can be seen all around town.
But it wasn’t just his work that made the community fall in love with Stone over the years, his friends and family recounted.
“He formed friendships with a countless number of individuals from all walks of life,” said his brother, Charles “Rocky” Stone.
Before the unveiling, the 48-inch bronze statue was shrouded in a black cloth. Leading up to the big reveal, Annmarie Arduino, 13, graced gatherers with a somber violin solo. Then, children in Stone’s life gathered around the cloaked piece, pulling back the cloth as people in the crowd smiled and wiped tears from their eyes.
The piece, which will stay on the courthouse lawn permanently, depicts a young girl rescuing an injured dove.
“The figure represents all young people in our community whose good work is having an extraordinary impact, and the dove represents our compassion and vision of peace for the future,” Stone said of the sculpture before his death.
He said even though news is often filled with conflict and uncertainty, there are reasons for hope in the region.
Recently, 12-year-old Saraphina Forman of Northampton organized a walk to benefit the Rainforest Trust. And 8-year-old Lavery Greenfield of Hatfield organized her second annual Food Drive to benefit The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
“The compassion of our young people has served as my inspiration for the public art installation,” he said.
Stone worked on the piece for two years leading up to his passing, after which the community pitched in to help the Council of Governments and the Northampton Arts Council erect the work.
“It really took the community to figure out how to get it installed,” Ford said. “It was an honor, personally, to be involved in it.” The sculpture provides some consolation to those who knew and loved Stone, but it doesn’t fill the void.
“We loved him dearly,” said longtime friend Mary Jo Lundquist. “There’s a hole that we have as a family that will never heal — it will always be there.”
Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@gazettenet.com.