He Who Thinks He's Invisible

The bronze mountain lion crouching nearby is called He Who Thinks He's Invisible, the work of sculptor Shelley Curtiss. It belongs to one of the most surprising main streets in the American West. This is Joseph, Oregon, a small town tucked beneath the Wallowa Mountains that became a world-class center for artistic bronze casting.

The story began in nineteen eighty-two, when local sculptors wanted a foundry close to home and Valley Bronze opened here, growing into a well-regarded art foundry. In the years that followed, the town worked to bury the power lines, lay cobblestone walks, and place monumental sculptures down the length of Main Street. The result is an open-air gallery of life-sized bronze wildlife and Western figures.