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GREENSBORO — James Barnhill has sculpted some of Greensboro’s most celebrated heroes.

His bronze statue of Gen. Nathanael Greene, the Revolutionary War hero and Greensboro namesake, towers over the roundabout at Greene and McGee streets downtown.

His February One work, displayed on the N.C. A&T campus where he teaches art, depicts the four college students who stagged a sit-in Feb. 1, 1960, to protest the whites-only policy at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in downtown Greensboro.

For those works and others, Barnhill received the Betty Cone Medal of Arts on Tuesday from the United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro. The annual award is named for the longtime local arts supporter.

Louise Smith received the council’s Al Jones Volunteer of the Year Award for her work with the arts advocacy and fundraising organization.

They were applauded by 150 people attending a breakfast at the O. Henry Hotel.

Barnhill sculpts clay figures that become bronze-cast works for public, corporate, religious and garden settings.

Among his other local works is Minerva, goddess of wisdom and former mascot of Woman’s College, which stands on what is now the UNCG campus.

He has been commissioned to sculpt a bust of Kay Yow, the Gibsonville native and N.C. State women’s basketball coach who died in January.

He describes such works as “where art meets history, social consciousness and technology.”

“What I really enjoy is that, in all of these cases, these pieces create a sense of place and identity and civic pride,” Barnhill said.

While Barnhill has devoted his career to art, Smith spent hers in nursing. Before retiring, she taught nursing at Rockingham Community College. She still volunteers as parish nurse for St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church.

At the arts council, she has volunteered with events, mailings and surveys.

“I am just a background kind of person,” Smith said. “I am perfectly happy back there.”

The breakfast also celebrated the council’s efforts to raise money for the arts, bring more public art to the city, and give grants to arts groups, artists and schools.

“We all know that this has been a tough year,” council President and CEO Jeanie Duncan said about the economy . “But we are going to tell you about what we have achieved despite the difficult marketplace.”

Duncan herself received a standing ovation for her 13 years with the council, six as its leader. She will step down Nov. 30.

The council raised more than $1.42 million in the year ending June 30, 10 percent short of its goal. It aims for $1.42 million this fiscal year.

Although it values individual and corporate donors, the council also will explore other sources of future revenue for the arts, such as taxes on food and beverage, hotel stays and car rentals, board Chairwoman April Harris said.

“We can’t continue to do business the same way on fundraising,” Harris said.

Contact Dawn DeCwikiel-Kane at 373-5204 or dawn.kane@news-record.com