Bronzed and beautiful

I ran into three amazing women recently on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall in Back Bay. It was a muggy day and I was mesmerized, so I sat down near first lady Abigail Adams, poet Phillis Wheatley, and abolitionist Lucy Stone for shade and inspiration. New York artist Meredith Bergmann has written a bronze love letter to these writers, champions of social justice, and all-around role models with her Boston Women's Memorial. What's most intriguing about the piece is that the figures aren't out of reach on a pedestal or frozen in a statuesque pose. Bergmann placed them in a circle, each in a natural and contemplative position: Adams leans against a stone, Wheatley sits with a finger resting on her cheek, and Stone is writing.

Stop by for some inspiration.

Boston Women's Memorial, Commonwealth Avenue Mall between Fairfield and Gloucester streets, Boston. www.cityofboston.gov/women