What is that, May 30, 2026
If you know, let us know. Send your responses to [email protected] or phone 631-275-1859.
Only Daniel Calabro responded to last week’s photo (see below), with two posts to our Facebook page: “Yup, helped build that house,” and “The other statue is half my son Jack’s baby face and half the artist’s nephew.”
O.K., Danny, thanks for sending.
The photo of the striking work of art greets people at the former residence and sculpture park of Ernst Neizvestny and his wife Anna Graham on Peppermill Lane. (Nearby is the monumental sculpture of a baby’s head, that Danny is referring to.)
Mr. Neizvestny, a world-renowned sculptor and Shelter Island homeowner, died in August 2016 at the age of 91. He created the small park/garden in front and behind his residence on Peppermill Lane, which for years has delighted those who have come across it.
The small park displays about 25 pieces crafted by Mr. Neizvestny. As you walk around to the back of the house, the view is breathtaking. Intricate sculptures ranging in size — some nearly 20 feet high — shape the landscape of the park overlooking a pond. The park has a hushed, secluded feel to it. Looking out at the still water, with towering bronze statues in the foreground, is captivating, an enchanting place to reflect.
The artist, born in Sverdlovsk, Russia, joined the Red Army as a volunteer and was awarded the Order of the Red Star at the close of World War II. He went on to study at the Academy for Fine Arts in Riga, Latvia, and the Surikov Institute of Art in Moscow. In 1977, Mr. Neizvestny moved to New York City, but soon wanted to find a space to live and work away from his Soho studio.
“Once he stepped off the ferry on Shelter Island, he said, ‘This is going to be my home,’” Ms. Graham remembered.
