Beautiful red rhododendron blossoms serve as a backdrop to Guemes artist Philip McCracken’s sculpture outside the Anacortes Post Office on Commercial Avenue. According to the Museum of Northwest Art in LaConner McCracken, a third generation member of a Skagit Valley family, was born in Bellingham in 1928. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington in 1953 and that summer sailed for England to study as an apprentice under famed sculptor Henry Moore. They formed a lasting friendship. Moore served as best man at McCracken’s wedding in England the following year. In 1955, McCracken and his wife moved to Guemes Island, where they have lived ever since.
