Tyler Davidson Fountain, (sculpture).

Tyler Davidson Fountain, (sculpture).

Kreling, August von, 1819-1876, sculptor.

Miller, Ferdinand von, II, 1842-1929, sculptor.

Royal Foundry, founder.

Tyler Davidson Fountain, (sculpture).

Designed 1840s. Modeled 1869. Cast Oct. 6, 1870. Dedicated Oct. 6 or 8, 1871. Rededicated Oct. 16, 1971.

Digital Reference:

Fountain sculpture: bronze; Base: porphyry; Fountain basin: granite and black granite.

Approx. H. 45 ft. x Diam. 42 ft.

Royal Bronze Foundry, Munich, Germany (Main fountain base, north side:) Aug. v. Kreling, Fdy & Mod. (Base of figures around fountain basin:) Ferd Miller jun fecit MUCHEN 1871 (Northeast face of granite base of southeast figure on rim of basin:) E. Ackermann/Weissenstadt/Uper Franconia (Fountain shaft, top west side:) TO THE/PEOPLE OF/CINCINNATI (Fountain, shaft, top north side:) HENRY/PROBASCO (Fountain shaft, top east side:) MDCCCLXXI (Fountain shaft, top south side:) TYLER/DAVIDSON signed Founder's mark appears.

The fountain is constructed with three tiers around a center shaft which is installed in a round, granite basin capped with a polish black granite rim. A nine foot female figure entitled the "Genius of Water" stands atop the center shaft. She is dressed in long robes tied at the waist. Her arms are stretched out on either side and her head is bowed. Water streams from the down turned palms of her hands.

Below her arranged around the shaft are four figures dramatizing the need for water. On the south side, a male figure holds a bucket as flames leap from a rooftop; on the north side, a male figure leans on his plow and waits with his dog for rain; on the east side, a young woman offers an older male figure a drink; and on the west side, a smiling female leads a reluctant child to bath. Four large, fluted basins project out from the shaft just beneath these figures.

Below the basins and in niches at the four corners of the main shaft are children representing the pleasures of water. On the northeast side, a young male puts on ice skates; on the southeast side, a young female holds a sea shell to her ear; on the southwest side, a young male holds a crayfish up in his proper left hand; and on the northwest side, a young female wears a pearl necklace. Recessed behind the ornate supports of the fluted basins are bas-relief panels affixed to the main shaft. They depict the industrial uses of water -navigation, milling, fishing, and power.

Mounted on the rim of the fountain basin on elevated, granite blocks are four young males seated on aquatic animals. On the southeast side, a turtle; on the southwest side, a goose; on the northwest side a fish; and on the northwest side, a viper.

Allegory -- Element -- Water

Disaster -- Fire

Occupation -- Farm -- Sowing

Recreation -- Leisure -- Eating & Drinking

Recreation -- Leisure -- Grooming

Recreation -- Sport & Play -- Skating

Occupation -- Industry -- Fishing

Occupation -- Industry -- Milling

Outdoor Sculpture -- Ohio -- Cincinnati

Administered by City of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Park Board, 950 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Located Fountain Square, 5th Street between Vine & Walnut Streets, Cincinnati, Ohio

August von Kreling designed this fountain in the 1840s for Bavarian King Ludwig I (Mad King Ludwig). It was never built since it did not embody the mythological characters popular at the time. In 1866, Henry Probasco, a hardware merchant, was traveling in Europe and looking for a suitable monument as a memorial for his deceased brother-in-law and business partner Tyler Davidson. Von Kreling's unexecuted design was his choice, and in 1867, he offered it to the city if they would agree to maintain it. A deal was struck, and a model was cast and sent to Probasco in 1869. In 1870, the fountain was cast of bronze melted down from Danish cannons. Ferdinand von Miller, II, son of the foundry owner, came to Cincinnati to supervise the installation in 1871, and on October 6, 1871, the fountain was dedicated.

Prior to the installation of the sculpture, the area of Fountain Square had been home to the Fifth Street Market, a butchers' market. On February 4, 1870 at 3:00 p.m., the City Council voted to tear down the market to make way for the new fountain. The architect William Tinsley was responsible for the new 60 x 400 ft. esplanade on Fifth Street where the sculpture was installed. Later, as part of the redevelopment of Fountain Square from 1966-1969, the sculpture was moved 30 ft. east to its present position as the center-piece of the Square. Philanthropist Frederic Hauck donated 62,000 dollars for cleaning and repairs to the fountain. After its rehabilitation, the fountain was rededicated on October 16, 1971.

The inscription on a bronze tablet on a podium located east of the fountain reads: 1871/THIS FOUNTAIN WAS CAST BY ROYAL BRONZE FOUNDRY/MUNICH, GERMAN - OCTOBER 6, 1870./IT WAS PRESENTED TO THE PEOPLE/OF CINCINNATI ON OCT. 8, 1871/BY HENRY PROBASCO/AS A MEMORIAL TO HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW/TYLER DAVIDSON/1971/AFTER ONE HUNDRED YEARS/AS A LANDMARK,/THE FOUNTAIN WAS RESTORED BY/ELEFTHERIOS KARKADOULIAS,/ATHENS, GREECE, FOR THE PEOPLE OF CINCINNATI/THRU THE GENEROUS CONTRIBUTIONS/OF FREDERICK A. HAUCK/IN MEMORY OF HIS BROTHER/CORNELIUS J. HAUCK.

August von Kreling is said to have used his daughter as the model for the young woman offering the older male figure a drink, and for the smiling female leading the reluctant child to bath, he is said to have used King Ludwig's consort. The young male figures riding aquatic animals mounted on the rim of the fountain basin were not part of the original design created by Kreling, but were additions made by the foundry at Henry Probasco's request. Ferdinand von Miller, II, son of the foundry owner, designed these elements as drinking fountains and water continuously flows from the mouths of the animals. There were communal cups made to accommodate drinking, but these are no longer present.

IAS files contain related information from John Clubbe's "Cincinnati Observed," Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1992, pg. 11-17; Giglierano, Jeffery J., and Deborah A. Overmyer, "The Bicentennial Guide to Greater Cincinnati: A Portrait of Two Hundred Years," Cincinnati: Cincinnati Historical Society, 1988, pg. 44-46; Cincinnati Historical Society's "Cincinnati: A Guide to the Queen City and Its Neighbors," Cincinnati: Cincinnati Historical Society, 1987, pg. 179-180; and Cincinnati Enquirer, March 30, 1968 and June 1, 1968. See IAS files for additional citations.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985

Campen, Richard N., "Outdoor Sculpture in Ohio," Chagrin Falls, Ohio: West Summit Press, 1980, pg. 13-14.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Ohio, Cincinnati survey, 1994.

Campen, Richard N., "Outdoor Sculpture in Ohio," Chagrin Falls, Ohio: West Summit Press, 1980, pg. 13-14.

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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