Transportation, (sculpture).

Transportation, (sculpture).

Barnard, George Grey, 1863-1938, sculptor.

Transportation, (sculpture).

Henry Bradley Plant Memorial Fountain, (sculpture).

ca. 1899-1900. Commissioned 1900. Rededicated Oct. 30, 1995.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: limestone; Base: cast concrete and stucco; Basin: cast concrete and stucco.

Sculpture: approx. 9 x 9 1/2 x 5 ft.; Basin: approx. 6 x 10 x 5 ft.

(On lower rim, proper left side:) Geo. G. Barnard SC. (On marble plaque on lower front of sculpture:) HENRY BRADLEY PLANT signed

A circular fountain basin with an allegorical sculpture representing ships and trains, symbols of transportation that was fueling development at the turn of the century, especially in Florida. In the center of the sculpture is a ship's stern topped by an eagle holding a treasure chest in its talons. Flanking the ship's stern are male and female sea nymphs. The male holds a locomotive and the female holds a ship. On each side, at the lower part of the piece, are fish that spout water into the fountain basin.

Homage -- Plant, Henry Bradley

Allegory -- Arts & Sciences -- Transportation

Animal -- Bird -- Eagle

Mythology -- Classical -- Nymph

Outdoor Sculpture -- Florida -- Tampa

Administered by City of Tampa, Art in Public Places, 1420 North Tampa Street, Tampa, Florida 33602

Located University of Tampa, Plant Park, east side of Henry B. Plant Museuml, Tampa, Florida

Formerly located Tampa Bay Hotel, Tampa, Florida

The fountain was commissioned in 1900 by Mrs. Margaret Plant, widow of railroad and shipping magnet, Henry Bradley Plant. She had the fountain installed in front of the Tampa Bay Hotel, built by Henry Bradley Plant in 1891. The historic hotel later became the Henry B. Plant Museum of the University of Tampa. This statue is reportedly the oldest piece of public art in Tampa. Barnard designed the statue; Hotel staff prrobably designed the fountain. IAS files contain related articles from the Tampa Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times, and excerpts from the books "The Treasure City-Tampa," by Gary Mormino and Tony Pizzo and "Plant's Palace: Henry B. Plant and the Tampa Bay Hotel," by James Covington. For additional information see South Tampa News, Nov. 8, 1995.

Treated 1995 August-October. South Florida Conservation Center (Pompano Beach, FL). Treatment report on file with conservator and University of Tampa, H.B. Plant Museum, Tampa, Florida.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Florida, Tampa survey, 1994.

Inventory staff, 2000.

SOS Conservation Notification Report, 1997.

Mormino, Gary R., and Tony Rizzo, "The Treasure City-Tampa," Tulsa, OK: Continental Heritage Press, 1983, pg. 190.

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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