Fountain of the Turtles, (sculpture).

Fountain of the Turtles, (sculpture).

Landini, Taddeo, ca. 1550-1596, sculptor. (copy after)

Della Porta, Giacomo, 1537-1602, designer. (copy after)

Fountain of the Turtles, (sculpture).

Fontana delle Tartarughe, (sculpture).

Installed 1955.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: marble, bronze; Base: marble.

(On fountain, near base, California Street side:) Alexander VII (On fountain, near base, Mason Street side:) Anno Ponthio IV (On fountain, near base, Sacramento Street side:) Ornaviture (On fountain, near base, Taylor Street side:) Restraravit unsigned

Marble and bronze fountain consisting of a round fountain basin resting atop a tall pedestal. The outer edges of the basin are decorated with high relief cherub faces. Four nude full-length boys, each riding a fish, surround the basin's pedestal. The boys face outward, each with an arm raised high, holding onto the tail of the fish with the other hand. The pedestal ends in an ornate square base, which has upside-down turtle shells protruding from each corner. The fountain stands in the center of a pool.

Figure group -- Male -- Nude

Animal -- Reptile -- Turtle

Outdoor Sculpture -- California -- San Francisco

Administered by City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco Arts Commission, 25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 240, San Francisco, California 94102

Located Huntington Park, San Francisco, California

Formerly in the collection of Crocker, William H., Mrs., Hillsborough, California

The sculpture is a copy after a fountain in Rome entitled "Fontana delle Tartarughe". The original fountain was designed by Della Porta and the figures were sculpted by Landini. The sculpture was purchased in Rome by Mrs. William H. Crocker and installed in the formal garden of the Crocker estate in Hillsborough, CA. When the estate was sold, the sculpture was given to the city of San Francisco by the Crocker heirs. The sculpture was accepted by the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 4, 1954. It was installed in Huntington Park in 1955. The fountain was restored in 1984. Restoration work included the recasting of the four turtles which had been stolen by vandals. The castings were taken from a similar fountain in Sarasota, FL. IAS files contain copy of related article from One Nob Hill, Autumn, 1985 and copies of related correspondence.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, California, San Francisco survey, 1993.

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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