The Christ of the Ozarks Statue is a monumental sculpture of Jesus located near Eureka Springs, Arkansas, atop Magnetic Mountain. It was erected in 1966 by Gerald L. K. Smith, a Depression-era religious and political figure who briefly led the Share Our Wealth movement initiated by Huey Long.
The statue, which is over 250 feet tall, was primarily the work of Emmett Sullivan, one of the sculptors who had worked on the Mount Rushmore project years earlier. The work is quite modernistic and minimalistic in a way; there is little true facial detail or expression, and the lines and forms are generally quite simplified. The arms are outstretched straight, suggesting the Crucifixion; however the cross is never overtly depicted. The statue was proposed and built as the centerpiece of a proposed religious theme park which was never fully realized, but an outdoor passion play styled after that of Oberammergau, Germany is staged annually in a nearby amphitheater.
Last updated: 08-21-2005 07:33:52