1172 - Man and Recreation by Abbot Pattison

You’re standing before Man and Recreation, a striking trio of bronzed copper sculptures that climb the south-facing wall of the Mayo Building.

Created in 1969 by American artist Abbott Pattison, this work is part of Mayo Clinic’s visionary Mirrors to Man collection—a series that celebrates humanity through art, medicine, and science.

Pattison earned both his bachelor’s and fine arts degrees from Yale before serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Afterward, he taught at the Art Institute of Chicago and worked across the world—in China, Japan, Italy, and France—absorbing cultural influences that shaped his modern, expressive style.

For this commission, Pattison originally designed four sculptural elements. But after review, Mayo’s art committee encouraged him to simplify the piece. The final version—three panels of welded bronzed copper—captures the rhythm and vitality of human recreation.

If you look closely, you can see what appear to be men, women, and children in motion: perhaps bicycling, hiking, or lifting a child to see something beyond. Pattison wanted the imagery to be open to interpretation—less about specific activities and more about the shared spirit of movement and joy.

The figures’ dark, weathered bronze contrasts sharply with the pale granite of the Mayo Building, allowing them to stand out even from a distance. Yet despite their strength, there’s something tender about the forms—a sense of togetherness, of family, of life being lived fully.

Through Man and Recreation, Abbott Pattison reminds us that health is not only the absence of illness, but the presence of vitality, curiosity, and play. It’s a quiet celebration of what it means to be alive—and an enduring reflection of the human spirit that defines Mayo Clinic itself.