The Green Man stump sculpture by Mark Acton, Druid Lake, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, United States
The Green Man
Mark Acton · “The Green Man”, chainsaw-carved red oak stump, 2012 · west end of Druid Lake (the reservoir), Druid Hill Park, Baltimore
Photo: Baltimore Heritage / Eli Pousson, 24 March 2017, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The city cut down two termite-damaged red oaks by the reservoir in Druid Hill Park, and chainsaw carver Mark Acton turned what was left into two faces. This one is The Green Man, a figure from pagan lore whose face is made of leaves, at the west end of the water. The Friends of Druid Hill Park raised his fee, and the Baltimore Sun reported that the city would dedicate both carvings at the group’s Solstice Celebration on 21 December 2012. The newest dated photo we found was taken on 24 March 2017.
5 things to know
- One of two red oak stumpsThe Baltimore Sun: “His material would be two tree stumps, each more than 12 feet tall and 20 feet around. Both were red oaks, which have especially tough wood.” Each had “lots of termite damage — the reason the city had cut them down.” Baltimore Sun, 2012
- The Green Man guards the west endThe Sun describes “The Green Man, a grizzled gent who seems to be emerging from a bed of vines and leaves” and says it “guards the water’s western end.” Its twin, The Druid, “looks down from a hill north of the reservoir.” Baltimore Sun, 2012
- Paid for by the FriendsAccording to the Sun, Baltimore’s Office of Promotions & the Arts sent out a call for applications, a panel of judges approved Acton’s drawings, and “Orth’s group raised a $2,000 artist fee” – Tom Orth of the Friends of Druid Hill Park. Baltimore Fishbowl also says Acton “was enlisted by the Friends of Druid Hill Park.” Baltimore Sun · Baltimore Fishbowl
- Hollowed out by termitesThe Sun: “Termite damage forced him to hollow out both stumps. That meant using shallower cuts.” Working from a scaffold, he carved freehand, “shaping the foliage in The Green Man’s hair.” Baltimore Sun, 2012
- Our photo is labelled “Druid”The 2017 photo is titled “Druid sculpture” on Flickr and Commons, but its leaf face matches the Green Man in Chuck Ditzler’s 2017 photos and a photo of the freshly carved stump posted on the My Droodle blog in 2013. The Druid wears a shingled hat and a long beard. Ditzler 2017 · My Droodle 2013 · Ditzler 2018
Check-in guide
- 📍
- At the western end of Druid Lake, the reservoir in Druid Hill Park, Baltimore (Baltimore Sun, Chuck Ditzler). The Flickr title of the 2017 photo places it on Lake Drive (Baltimore Heritage).
- 🌳
- Don’t mix it up with The Druid, Acton’s other stump, on a hill north of the reservoir; it has a shingled hat and a long beard (Chuck Ditzler, 2018).
- 🧭
- Wikimedia Commons records the camera position of the 2017 photo as 39.319008, -76.642281, on the lake’s south-western shore by Druid Park Lake Drive (Commons). The Maps button opens that spot.
Sightings
- 201228 Nov
Baltimore Fishbowl on the new carvings
- 201220 Dec
Baltimore Sun, day before dedication
- 201319 Oct
Blog photo of the fresh carving
- 201610 Jul
3D scan published
- 201724 Mar
Baltimore Heritage photo
- 201726 Mar
Chuck Ditzler’s photos
Every stamp links to the dated source. The green stamp is the only photo taken at the work with a recorded date: Eli Pousson for Baltimore Heritage, 24 March 2017, the photo at the top of this page. Amber stamps are reports and pages with a publication date but no camera date: Baltimore Fishbowl (28 November 2012) and the Baltimore Sun (20 December 2012) on the new carvings, a My Droodle blog post (19 October 2013) with a photo of the freshly cut stump behind construction fencing, a 3D scan published on Sketchfab (10 July 2016), and Chuck Ditzler’s blog post with four photos (26 March 2017). We found no dated photo newer than March 2017.
On the record
Dead trees in Druid Hill Park are carved into sculptures
“Visitors will encounter The Druid, a 10-foot-tall bust of a bearded man with a mythical air, and The Green Man, a grizzled gent who seems to be emerging from a bed of vines and leaves.”
Jonathan Pitts’s report from the last days of carving, ahead of the dedication at the Friends of Druid Hill Park’s second Solstice Celebration.
The Amazing Tree Stump Carvings of Druid Hill Park
“Acton’s first sculpture was inspired by the Green Man, which is ‘the ever-returning energy of vegetation and wild Nature,’ at least according to spiralgoddess.com.”
Rachel Monroe’s short photo story. It places the sculptures near the zoo entrance; a comment from Tom Orth the next day says they are “actually around the reservoir.”
Public Sculptures–“Green Man” by Mark Acton in Druid Hill Park, Baltimore
“I think this is a neat way to create art in the park.”
Four photos of the Green Man from several sides, with a summary of the Sun’s 2012 story.
The facts
- Artist
- Mark Acton, a chainsaw carver from Severna Park, Maryland (Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Fishbowl, Sketchfab) Checked. Two blogs spell his first name “Marc” (My Droodle, Chuck Ditzler)
- Title
- “The Green Man” (Baltimore Sun, Chuck Ditzler, Sketchfab) Checked
- Made
- 2012; carved over several weekends, with the city’s dedication set for the Friends of Druid Hill Park’s Solstice Celebration on Friday 21 December 2012 (Baltimore Fishbowl, Baltimore Sun) Checked. Acton’s first sculpture of the two, according to Baltimore Fishbowl Reported
- Material
- A termite-damaged red oak stump, more than 12 feet tall and 20 feet around before carving, hollowed out because of the damage, according to the Baltimore Sun (Baltimore Sun) Reported
- Commission
- Recreation and Parks officials wanted the stumps reused, the Office of Promotions & the Arts ran the call, and the Friends of Druid Hill Park raised a $2,000 fee, according to the Baltimore Sun (Baltimore Sun) Reported
- Place
- The western end of Druid Lake, the reservoir in Druid Hill Park (Baltimore Sun, Chuck Ditzler) Checked. Baltimore Fishbowl put the carvings “near the entrance to the zoo”; Tom Orth of the Friends replied that they are around the reservoir. We follow the Sun and Orth (Baltimore Fishbowl and comment) Conflicting
- Size
- The Sun gives 10 feet for The Druid; no source we opened gives the Green Man’s own height Unconfirmed
- Our photo
- Shows the Green Man: the same leaf face as Chuck Ditzler’s 2017 photos and the photo of the fresh carving posted in 2013 (Ditzler 2017, My Droodle 2013) Checked. Its Flickr and Commons title calls it a “Druid sculpture” (Flickr, Commons) Conflicting
- Status
- Seen March 2017: photo taken 24 March 2017 (Commons) Checked. Still there after 2017: no dated photo found; Chuck Ditzler wrote in December 2018 that the reservoir was being worked on (Chuck Ditzler, 2018) Unconfirmed
Related
- On Street Art Utopia: When Tree Stumps Become Art (10 Photos) (11 October 2026), where the photo above appears as work no. 1.
- The Druid, Acton’s second stump in the park, on a hill north of the reservoir, photographed in February 2018. Chuck Ditzler
- A 3D model of the Green Man that you can turn around in the browser. Sketchfab
All sources (7)
This work
- The Baltimore Sun: “Dead trees in Druid Hill Park are carved into sculptures”, by Jonathan Pitts, 20 December 2012. Two red oak stumps, The Druid and The Green Man, termite damage, the $2,000 fee, the Solstice dedication.
- Baltimore Fishbowl: “The Amazing Tree Stump Carvings of Druid Hill Park”, by Rachel Monroe, 28 November 2012. Acton, the Friends of Druid Hill Park, the first sculpture inspired by the Green Man; reader comment by Tom Orth on the location.
- Chuck Ditzler: “Public Sculptures–‘Green Man’ by Mark Acton in Druid Hill Park, Baltimore”, blog post, 26 March 2017. Four photos of the Green Man; west end of the reservoir.
- My Droodle: “Rare Earth, Rare Druid”, blog post, 19 October 2013. Photo of the freshly carved Green Man captioned “A sculpture by artist Marc Acton”.
- Sketchfab: “The Green Man – Druid Hill Park”, 3D model by gerg, published 10 July 2016: “Sculpture by Mark Acton located in Druid Hill Park in Baltimore, MD.”
Dated photos
- Commons: “Druid sculpture carved from tree stump, Druid Hill Park, Lake Drive, Baltimore, MD”, Eli Pousson for Baltimore Heritage, taken 24 March 2017, CC0; also on Flickr. The photo at the top of this page.
Context
- Chuck Ditzler: “‘The Druid’–tree stump sculpture in Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park”, blog post, 26 December 2018. Photos of the other carving, taken February 2018.
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