Casey Downing Jr.

Installed in July 2008, the 600-pound bronze sculpture is the creation of Mobile sculptor Casey Downing Jr.

Born in 1948, Downing has sculpted for 50 years. His famous works include the statue of boxer Joe Louis

in LaFayette, Alabama; "The Recruit," a piece depicting a military recruit taking his oath of enlistment at USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park on the Mobile Bay Causeway; the five statues of Alabama Supreme Court chief justices in downtown Montgomery, Alabama; and two pieces at entrances of Cathedral Square park in downtown Mobile, to name a few. There are well over 50 Downing public sculptures to date across Alabama and the U.S., and as far away as Singapore in Southeast Asia.

Downing, who grew up in Mobile, studied commercial art at South and went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in fine art from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 1976.

The Mitchell brothers sculpture took about a year to create. “Mayer and Abe came into my studio, and I took a lot of pictures of them standing and sitting, together and separate,” Downing said. “I had them sit on a circular revolving base to photograph them from all angles, capturing their clothing, physical builds, postures, and expressions.”

He made a clay model that he used to create a ceramic mold, which he then used to cast the molten bronze for the finished piece. “The fine details you see in the finished bronze piece come from the tool marks I use to form the clay models,” Downing said.

The finished piece was delivered to the College, lifted and carried by a rolling hoist, set on a welded-bronze bench and bolted onto the bench from underneath.

The sculpture was unveiled at a ceremony on July 26, 2008. Asked what the Mitchell family thought, Downing replied, “They loved it. They thought it was great.” Sadly, Mayer passed away the September before the sculpture was installed.

Downing’s father, Maurice “Casey” Downing Sr., was his inspiration and set an example for hard work.

Downing Sr. was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1962 and served in that body for 12 years. He was instrumental in the battle to charter a college of medicine for the University of South Alabama, was involved with the effort to move the USS Alabama to Mobile and led the fight to bring greyhound racing to Mobile, a goal he finally achieved in 1972. Maurice Downing died in April 1985.

“My father was one of the founding legislators at South,” Downing said. “He was really excited about getting the University here in Mobile.”

These days, South students pose by Downing's sculpture to commemorate their time at the College, decorating it for holidays and being photographed with it for graduations.

The Mitchell brothers sculpture stands as a landmark on the University campus and a tangible reminder of the Mitchell family’s commitment to the future of the Mitchell College of Business. It is a fitting tribute to two men and a family committed to doing good for the College, the University of South Alabama, and the city of Mobile.

By Dionne Castor