In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, Maddie Miller, of Tampa, Fla., raises her head during the World Famous Key Lime Pie Eating Championship Tuesday, July 4, 2023, in Key West, Fla. The gooey competition, whose entrants are forbidden to use their hands, has become a subtropical alternative to Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest in New York City. (Photo by Rob O'Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP Photo)

A dachshund portraying a racehorse, trots down Duval Street in Key West, Florida, December 31, 2014. About 175 dachshunds and other dogs participated in the event that preludes four warm-weather takeoffs on New York City's Times Square ball drop. (Photo by Steve Panariello/Reuters/Florida Keys News Bureau)

Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) Police Officer Keith Flood trains with his K-9 partner Doc, a German Shepherd, inside the “warehouse room” at the new MTA Police Department Canine Training Center in Stormville, New York, U.S., June 6, 2016. (Photo by Mike Segar/Reuters)

An incredible moon rise behind the World Trade Center, Manhattan, New York on August 23, 2016. The breath-taking photo was taken by photographer Jennifer Khordi. She said: it was just absolutely amazing to see this. (Photo by Jennifer Khordi/Caters News Agency)

Model and current Victoria's Secret Angel Elsa Hosk is seen wearing Jacob and Co jewelry while out and about in New York City on April 26, 2018. (Photo by Peter Parker/Splash News and Pictures)

“Twisted Metal” Season 2 stars Anthony Mackie and Stephanie Beatriz celebrate the new season at Top of the Rock Observation Deck at Rockefeller Center in New York on July 22, 2025. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

American sculptor Michael Alfano has been sculpting for over fifteen years. A native of New York, he now lives and works in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. His major influences are Salvador Dali, Jo Davidson, and Jean-Antoine Houdon, as well as Buddhist, Taoist, Sufi and other eastern philosophy and literature. He first studied at the Art Students League of New York, with an emphasis on life-size sculpture from the model. His formal education continued at Boston University and was augmented by internships with several prominent sculptors.