The Nymph, (sculpture).

The Nymph, (sculpture).

Romanelli, Raffaello, 1856-1928, sculptor.

Romanelli Studios, fabricator.

The Nymph, (sculpture).

Installed 1963.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: Carrara marble; Base: marble.

Sculpture: approx. H. 7 ft. 5 in.; Base: approx. 1 ft. 8 in. x 3 ft. 11 in. x 5 ft. 9 in.

(On plaque on front of base, raised lettering:) NYMPH/AN ORIGINAL BY RAFFAELLO ROMANELLI/THE NYMPH IS FULL OF WONDER AND/ECSTASY AT HER OWN BEAUTY. ACQUIRED/BY MILLER NICHOLS IN FLORENCE,/ITALY AND DEDICATED TO THE PEOPLE/OF THE COUNTRY CLUB DISTRICT IN/1963.

A nude female nymph rests on her proper left upper thigh with both legs bent and curled back to her proper right. She clasps her hands together beneath the proper left side of her chin with her proper right thumb touching the nipple of her proper left breast. She leans forward slightly as though looking at her reflection in the basin below her. Her wavy hair is pulled back from her face in a bun. She sits on top of a four-sided pedestal, resembling a column, which is tiered at the bottom. In relief on the front of the pedestal is a mask-like face with a mane of hair, pointed ears, long whiskers and a mouth held wide open. At the front base of the pedestal is a small, curved basin. At the curvilinear back of the basin is another mask-like face. The sculpture and pedestal rest on a rough-hewn base with a sloping front portion.

Mythology -- Classical -- Nymph

Figure -- Fragment -- Face

Outdoor Sculpture -- Kansas -- Mission Hills

Administered by City of Mission Hills, Council, 6300 State Line, Mission Hills, Kansas 66208

Located West side of State Line at 69th Terrace, in park, Mission Hills, Kansas

The sculpture was purchased by Miller Nichols from Romanelli Studios during a visit to Florence, Italy in 1962. It was installed and dedicated a year later in a triangular park given to Mission Hills by the J. C. Nichols Company. Beginning in the 1920s, developer J. C. Nichols, and later, his son Miller, imported and installed sculptures in the Country Club district of Mission Hills, to create European country estate feel. The sculpture was originally intended as a fountain, although it has not been used as a fountain in its Mission Hills location. IAS files contain related excerpts from Sherry Piland and Ellen J. Uguccioni's "Fountains of Kansas City: A History and Love Affair," Kansas City, MO: City of Fountains Foundation, 1986, pg. 245; and "Outdoor Art of the Country Club District," Kansas City, MO: J. C. Nichols Company, May 1978, pg. 11. IAS files contain a related article from the Kansas City Star, Sept. 10, 1972, pg. 2C.; and clippings from the Kansas City Star Magazine, June 25, 1995.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Kansas survey, 1994.

Piland, Sherry and Ellen J. Uguccioni, "Fountains of Kansas City: A History and Love Affair," Kansas City, MO: City of Fountains Foundation, 1985.

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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