Burnside Fountain, (sculpture).

Burnside Fountain, (sculpture).

Harvey, Charles Y., 1869-1912, sculptor.

Fry, Sherry Edmundson, 1879-1966, sculptor.

Bacon, Henry, 1866-1924, sculptor.

Jno. Williams, Inc., founder.

Burnside Fountain, (sculpture).

Burnside Memorial Fountain, (sculpture).

Boy with a Turtle, (sculpture).

1912. Relocated 1969.

Sculpture: bronze; Basin: pink granite.

(On front of basin:) THE GIFT OF HARRIET P. F. BURNSIDE/A.D. MCMVII (On back of basin:) 1919 (...inscription illegible)toonday N Y

The fountain sculpture depicts a young nude boy riding on a turtle's back. The sculpture is installed on a small circular base in the center of a rectangular fountain basin. Originally, water poured from the turtle's mouth into the fountain basin. At either end of the basin are deep bowls once used as watering troughs for horses. A low bowl on the back of the basin was once used as a watering trough for dogs.

Figure male -- Child -- Nude

Animal -- Reptile -- Turtle

Homage -- Burnside, Harriet

Outdoor Sculpture -- Massachusetts -- Worcester

Administered by City of Worcester, Parks, Recreation, and Cemetery Department, 125 Green Hill Parkway, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605

Located Worcester Common, Worcester, Massachusetts

Formerly located at Central Square, Worcester, Massachusetts 01608 until 1969.

This $5,000 fountain was given by Mrs. Harriet Burnside and was accepted by the City of Worcester on April 6, 1904. The fountain was intended to honor Mrs. Burnside's father, a prominent Worcester attorney. Daniel Chester French was asked to do the memorial, but he assigned the project to Charles Harvey. When Harvey died before the statue was completed, it was finished by Sherry Fry. Henry Bacon designed the basin. The fountain sculpture was once stolen, but was later returned. A new collar was fabricated for the sculpture by students at the Boys Trade so it could be remounted on its base. A trust fund for the fountain's maintenance was established when the piece was given to the city.

IAS files contain a copy of the City of Worcester Parks and Recreation Department / Massachusetts Historical Commission Form C "Monuments" questionnaire dated March 31, 1986; the Supplement for Form C "Monuments" questionnaire which includes a condition assessment; and a Sept. 1986 Dennis and Craine Associates condition assessment.

Beall, Pamela E., "Artworks in Our Parks: An Inventory of Public Memorials," Worcester, MA: City of Worcester, 1986.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Massachusetts survey, 1994.

Beall, Pamela E., "Artworks in Our Parks: An Inventory of Public Memorials," Worcester, MA: City of Worcester, 1986, pg. 19, 20.

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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