The bonaventure cemetery statue sat virtually unnoticed until 1993 when random house hired savannah photographer jack leigh to shoot an image for the cover of john berendt s new book midnight in the garden of good and evil 1994.
Savannah garden of good and evil statue.
Midnight in the garden of good and evil is a non fiction novel by john berendt.
Sculpted in 1936 bird girl by sylvia shaw judson stood in obscurity for decades in savannah s bonaventure cemetery where it was named little wendy by the family that paid for it.
Subtitled a savannah story with an initial printing of 25 000 copies the book became a new york times best seller for 216 weeks following its debut and remains the longest standing new york times best seller.
Although the bird girl statue is no longer located in bonaventure cemetery this hauntingly beautiful savannah cemetery still plays a huge role in midnight in the garden of good and evil under the spanish moss canopy the cemetery is rich in history and mystery along with stunning sculptures.
Judson was the sculptor of the famous savannah bird girl statue that was photographed for the cover of the best selling non fiction novel midnight in the garden of good evil by john berendt and featured in the movie by the same title.
At berendt s suggestion leigh searched the bonaventure cemetery for a suitable subject.
That ended in 1994 when a photo of the statue appeared on the cover of the bestselling midnight in the garden of good and evil and acquired its new bird girl name.
The book was subsequently made into clint eastwood s.
Savannah s famous statue from midnight in the garden of good and evil one of the icons of savannah is its bird girl a 50 inch sculpture in bronze the statue depicts a young girl standing wistfully with two bowls in her hands.