Everett, Wash.
Published: Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Sculptor Everett DuPen gets his due

A new documentary airing tonight on KCTS sheds light on the often overlooked artist who taught for 38 years at the UW.

By Andy Rathbun
Herald Writer

 Since he was not only a sculptor but also a father, the late Everett DuPen sometimes found it difficult to practice his art.

At night, he would turn to his wife, Charlotte DuPen, to serve as his model.

"We'd put the kids to bed and when they were asleep, then I would take off my clothes and he would draw me," Charlotte DuPen recalls in a new documentary.

"Everett DuPen, Sculptor" is scheduled to air tonight on KCTS (Channel 9). The intimate portrait includes interviews with DuPen's wife, children and colleagues and the sculptor himself, recorded before his 2005 death. He taught at the University of Washington for 38 years.

Seattle documentarian B.J. Bullert made the half-hour documentary in an effort to put DuPen on the map.

"(He) has been overlooked and probably for good reason," Bullert said. "He didn't make that connection in the galleries. He didn't market his stuff. And Charlotte is part of that puzzle."

The documentary portrays DuPen as a man both devoted to his family and his craft. At times, that meant canceling vacations to spend time in the studio. And at times, that meant pulling work out of a gallery at his wife's request.

"I always wanted to keep the art in the family," Charlotte DuPen says.

Nonetheless, commissioned works made it into the public sphere. He created the "Fountain of Creation," a massive piece outside the Seattle Center, and a sculpture of a male diver, titled "Vision," which stands outside the Edmonds Public Library.

"Vision" is one of several works remembered during the documentary. Everett DuPen had planned on sculpting a male nude but was told he had to include trunks in the design, since children would see it.

"I said, 'It's about time they learn a few things, isn't it?' " DuPen remembers.

Despite his objection, he included the trunks.

DuPen also sometimes ran afoul of critics. He was out of step with the times, in a way. Artists were toying with new ideas -- abstracts and pop art -- but his pieces were realistic.

Now, though, he may start to get his due, and not only because realism is experiencing something of a resurgence.

"Who do we remember and who do we forget?" Bullert asked. "This doesn't happen by magic. It happens through a network of association. It happens through publicity."

It seems DuPen is getting some.

Reporter Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455 or e-mail arathbun@heraldnet.com.

Watch it

"Everett DuPen, Sculptor": 10 tonight, KCTS Channel 9
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