OCEAN CITY, Md. - Overlooking the Ocean City Inlet stands a "Whispering Giant."
"Whispering Giants" are a series of 74 sculptures found across the United States and a few other parts of the world by artist Peter Wolf Toth.
Standing in the harsh conditions of the Atlantic Coast, even a giant can get worn down.
"It needs a lot of care and attention," said Toth as he chiseled away at worn parts of the sculpture.
Toth presented the sculpture to Ocean City and the people of Maryland in 1976 to honor the native people of Delmarva, such as the Assateague and the Nanticoke, among others.
Toth spent part of his childhood in communist Hungary. After moving to the United States, Toth found a connection between the plight of Hungarians under communism and the plight of Native Americans.
"[The communists] stole my father's land," Toth remembered. "So when I came to America as a child, I understood the plight of the American Indians much better than other people."
The artist is in Ocean City this week to do restoration work on the weatherbeaten sculpture.
Toth is donating his time and skills to the restoration project. The Ocean City Development Corporation (OCDC) is helping with other costs to restore the work of art, an important attraction on the waterfront.
"It is a very popular sculpture for the downtown and the entrance of the inlet here and us in downtown Ocean City particularly," said Glenn Irwin of the OCDC.
To Toth, though, this work has nothing to do with money or any other form of material compensation.
"The value, the aesthetics, it honors people facing injustice," Toth said. "That's the whole purpose. And that far exceeds any other reason."
To learn more about how you can help the OCDC assist Toth in his work, visit OCDC.org.