"Birds of Happiness," by Dee Clements. Photo by Wayne Armstrong
Dedicated on Oct. 30, 2009, this sculpture—titled Birds of Happiness—was installed in Penrose Library in memory of
Stuart James, a DU English professor from 1957–86. Jean James, Stuart’s widow, and their daughter, Barbara James,
commissioned the sculpture in 1995 from Loveland, Colo., based sculptor Dee Clements; it previously was located outdoors near Sturm Hall. The idea of a crane sculpture came from trips Stuart and Jean had taken to see the birds in New Mexico, Colorado and Nebraska, as well as the fact that cranes mate for life. Birds of Happiness joins Eagle Catcher, a bronze sculpture by Western artist George Carlson, in the northwest corner of the library’s third floor.