Sea Shell and Cherubs, (sculpture).

Sea Shell and Cherubs, (sculpture).

Palla, Ferdinando, sculptor.

Sea Shell and Cherubs, (sculpture).

Sea Shell Statue, (sculpture).

Installed ca. 1940. Relocated 1995.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: Carrara marble; Base: limestone.

Sculpture: approx. H. 6 ft. x W. 4 ft.; Base: approx. Diam. 2 1/2 ft.

Two cherubs hold a large scalloped sea shell above their heads. Each cherub is slightly draped across its lap. The cherub on the proper right has the legs and hooves of a faun and hair in tight ringlets. The cherub's head is bowed forward as it carries the weight of the shell with its upraised right hand and partially on its back and head. Its proper left hand is down, touching the knee of the other cherub. The cherub on the proper left has wavy hair and holds the bottom of the shell with its upraised proper left hand, which is extended across its body. The sculpture rests upon a circular base.

Religion -- Angel

Object -- Other -- Shell

Outdoor Sculpture -- Kansas -- Mission Hills

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

Located Tomahawk Road & 69th Street, Mission Hills, Kansas

Formerly located Flag Island, Tomahawk Road & 67th Street, Mission Hills, Kansas before 1995.

The sculpture was imported from Italy around 1940 by the J. C. Nichols Company and installed on Flag Island at 67th & Tomahawk Road in Mission Hills. The sculpture was relocated in the spring of 1995 to 69th & Tomahawk Road. Beginning in the 1920s, developer J. C. Nichols, and later his son, Miller Nichols, imported and installed sculptures from Europe in the Country Club district of Mission Hills. The sculptures were given to local homes' associations. J. C. Nichols' plan was to create an urban neighborhood with country estate charms in classical European style. Since that time, the city has taken over the upkeep of the sculptures. The sculpture was cleaned and sealed in 1986, restored in 1991 and recleaned in 1994. IAS files contain a related excerpt from "The Outdoor Art of the Country Club District," Kansas City, MO: J. C. Nichols Company, May 1978, pg. 10; and a clipping from the Kansas City Star Magazine, June 25, 1995, pg. 9.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Kansas survey, 1995.

Kansas City Star Magazine, June 25, 1995, pg. 9.

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

Control Number:

Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382

Powered by SirsiDynix

About | © 2020 Smithsonian | Terms of Use | Privacy | Contact

SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System