Figure of Puck over Fountain and Pool, (sculpture).

Figure of Puck over Fountain and Pool, (sculpture).

Putnam, Brenda, 1890-1975, sculptor.

Cret, Paul Philippe, 1876-1945, architect.

Baillie, Robert Alexander, 1880-1961, carver.

Figure of Puck over Fountain and Pool, (sculpture).

Puck Fountain, Folger Shakespeare Library, (sculpture).

1932. Dedicated 1932. Relocated 2001.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: white marble.

Sculpture: approx. H. 46 in. x W. 35 in.

Brendea/Brandal Utnam, SE (Sculpture, lower left front near base:) BRENDA PUTNAM/1932 (Base, front:) LORD WHAT FOOLS/THESE MORTALS BE!/MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM signed

Figure of the youthful Puck kneeling on his proper left knee. His proper right leg is bent at the knee and is positioned out to his proper right. Both arms are bent at the elbows and are raised, hands open, and palms facing outward. Loose drapery is wrapped around his back, over his proper left arm and over his proper right leg. He has short curly hair and smiles as he looks down to his proper left.

Literature -- Character -- Puck

Literature -- Shakespeare -- Midsummer Night's Dream

Figure male -- Nude

Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol Street, S.E., Washington, District of Columbia 20003

Puck, a character from Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream," is sometimes called Robin Goodfellow, a servant of Oberon, king of the fairies. In English folklore, Puck was thought to be a household demon or sprite. The sculpture was commissioned for the opening of the Folger Shakespeare Library in 1932. Originally, the sculpture surmounted a fountain on the west side of the Folger Shakespeare Library. Around 1993, the sculpture was severely vandalized, and in 2001, the sculpture was restored and moved indoors. IAS image files show the figure of Puck when it was installed on the fountain before restoration. Later a cast aluminum replica replaced the sculpture at the fountain site.

Treated 2001. Daedalus, Inc. (Watertown, MA). Treatment report on file with conservator.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, District of Columbia survey, 1993.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 83.

SOS Assessment Award, 1998.

SOS Conservation Treatment Award, 1999.

SOS Conservation Notification Report, 2001.

Folger News (Spring 2002), pg. 2.

Michael Richman, SAAM curatorial assistant, 1967-1969.

Folger Shakespeare Library, 2006.

Goode, James M., "Washington Sculpture: A Cultural History of Outdoor Sculpture in the Nation's Capitol," Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, no. 1.35.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, A-34.

Washington Post, Feb. 13, 1938.

Goode, James M., "Washington Sculpture: A Cultural History of Outdoor Sculpture in the Nation's Capitol," Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, no. 1.35.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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