Curtiss Memorial Fountain, (sculpture).

Curtiss Memorial Fountain, (sculpture).

Kiss, August, 1802-1865, (sculptor). (copy after)

J.L. Mott Iron Works, founder.

Curtiss Memorial Fountain, (sculpture).

Amazon, (sculpture).

Dedicated Aug. 1895. Replacement Amazon figure added: ca. 1999-2001.

Bronze and cast iron.

Sculpture: approx. 3 x 4 x 2 ft.; Base: approx. 7 x 6 x 4 ft.

(On plaque on front of base:) "PRESENTED TO THE TOWN OF HUNTINGTON IN MEMORY OF CHARLES CURTISS BY HIS DAUGHTER JULIA DE FOREST NASH AUGUST 1895" (On front of lower section of base, raised letters:) DESIGNED & BUILT BY/THE J.L. MOTT IRON WORKS/NEW YORK Founder's mark appears.

The sculpture depicts a female warrior, dressed in a loose flowing garment, mounted on horseback with her raised proper right hand holding a spear and her proper left hand holding onto the horse's mane. The horse is rearing up as the panther attacks it. The sculpture is mounted atop an ornate cast iron fountain base. The fountain's sides are decorated with shell basins and fish spouts.

Homage -- Curtiss, Charles

Figure female -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Animal -- Horse

Animal -- Panther

Outdoor Sculpture -- Connecticut -- Shelton

Administered by City of Shelton, Parks Department, 41 Church Street, Shelton, Connecticut 06484

Located Huntington Green, Northeast corner near intersection of Huntington Street & Route 108, Shelton, Connecticut

The sculpture, created by August Kiss, and the fountain, designed by J. L. Mott, were presented to the Town of Huntington in August of 1895 by Julia de Forest Nash in memory of her father Charles Curtiss. The memorial originally stood in the center of Huntington Street at Ripton Road and was later moved to the northeast corner of Huntington Green, near the Intersection of Huntington Street and Route 108. The current sculpture is a replacement for the original zinc sculpture. In 1999-2001, conservation work was done on the fountain and the original zinc statue was removed at that time and given to the Shelton Historical Society (see IAS record CT000228). This bronze reproduction was made and placed on the restored fountain base on Huntington Green.

For additional information see: "A Pictorial History of Shelton, Connecticut, 1987," Gettysburg, PA: Herff Jones, 1987, pg. 91; NH Register, May 12, 1999, and Huntington Herald, May 19, 1999, pg. 1.

Treated 1999-2001. Conservation Technical Associates (Westport, CT) and Polich Art Works. Treatment report on file with Shelton Historical Society.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Connecticut survey, 1993.

SOS Assessment Award, 1998.

SOS Conservation Notification Report, 2003.

For original Amazon figure see: CT000228.

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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