John Hanford was among the faculty of the Art Institute of Buffalo, where he taught a sculpture workshop in 1953. He also was a technical illustrator for Bell Aircraft. Among his friends was sculptor William Ehrich, whose style of figuration was similar at times. Hanford’s work was included in Western New York exhibitions presented at the Albright Art Gallery in 1952, 1954 (when Adolescence was shown), 1955, and 1969. Graceful curvilinear forms in Adolescence represent the loving relationship between a mother and teenage daughter, as well as the girl’s youthful insecurity and reticence to separate from familial ties. The figurative sculpture follows in the tradition of Henry Moore’s carved stone and wooden sculptures that drew international acclaim beginning in the 1930s.