Toth Whispering Giant

This carved head is Arizona's entry in one man's fifty-state vow. Peter Toth, a Hungarian-born artist, set out in 1972 to carve one monumental sculpture in every state honoring Native American peoples, a project he called the Trail of Whispering Giants. Winslow's is number thirty-three. In 1979 the city and a local mill located a suitable tree, and Toth worked the wood by hand, preferring its rough grain because he felt it matched the strength of the people he meant to memorialize. He gave the giants away across the country, asking nothing for them.

What the plaque says

In 1972, Peter Toth, a Hungarian born artist, began carving his Trail of Whispering Giants across the United States. Starting in La Jolla, California, Toth decided to carve one statue for each state, with Arizona as number 33. In the fall of 1979, the City of Winslow and Kaibab Industries began searching for a tree that was at least 55 inches in diameter and about 30 feet tall. Toth preferred to work with wood, believing the rustic texture exemplified the strong character of the native people he was memorializing.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Winslow — 0.3 mi
  The town an Eagles lyric made famous — and the home of La Posada, the last great railroad hotel and Mary Colter's finest work, at the southern doorway to Hopi and Navajo country.

More markers nearby

• Standin' on the Corner Park — 0.2 mi
• A City in Motion: Modern Modes — 0.3 mi
• The First Peoples of the Southwestern Colorado Plateau — 0.3 mi
• La Posada Hotel — 0.4 mi