Not your typical chiseler

Interested in art from an early age when growing up in the Bronx, Stanley Buckstone took classes throughout his home borough for free during the Great Depression and began sculpting at 25, finally stopping when his health took its physical toll.

“I always loved art,” said the aptly named Buckstone, prior to his 30-minute presentation, where he also displayed four pieces, on Dec. 9, including “The Three Faces of Eve” (Medusa, Lorelei and Thou).  

Buckstone, 96, a retired chemist who owned an electroplating company in Long Island City for 39 years, lived in Oceanside for 65 years before moving to Pembroke Pines, Fla. in 2001, and now lives in The Nautilus Hotel in Atlantic Beach with his wife of 74 years, Sally. 

“I never thought I would get out of the Bronx,” said Buckstone, who enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943 and was assigned to Georgia.

Living in The Nautilus for barely six weeks, Buckstone was encouraged to speak about his artwork by the hotel’s activities director Melodie Kassover after she saw the sculptures in the couple’s room. “This is great,” she said as the room filled up with residents. 

Years ago, he attended the Art Students League in New York and the Modern Museum of Art Studio. He studied under noted artist Elaine Warshaw and was awarded first place twice at the Long Island Winter Festival in Bethpage and a first place award from the Long Beach Art Guild, over the years. He has had one-man shows in Rockville Centre, Oceanside and several galleries in the city.

“I’d go to the Lower East Side (of Manhattan) to look for stones,” he said. Some sculptures took three weeks and some took three months to complete, Buckstone said. 

His work was done in alabaster, marble, granite and wood. The tools included rasps, files and sandpaper. “It takes time, it takes strength, Buckstone said. “It is done by hand and with love.”