David Esterly's final artwork pays homage to Dr. Neil Compton (1912-1999), a Northwest Arkansas-based physician and environmentalist. Here, a collection of carved wooden objects hang on a letter rack, providing a multifaceted perspective of the life of this important Bentonville resident. Each object references various facets of Dr. Compton’s life, including his military service, his medical career, and his conservation work to preserve the Buffalo River, among many others.

Throughout his career, Esterly made highly detailed wood carvings that married technical fluency with his own unique take on portraiture. The subjects of Esterly’s “portraits” are represented not by their physical likenesses, but through the objects that defined their lives.