Court Square Fountain, (sculpture).

Court Square Fountain, (sculpture).

J.L. Mott Iron Works, founder.

Canova, Antonio, 1757-1822, sculptor. (copy after)

MacMonnies, Frederick William, 1863-1937, sculptor. (formerly attributed to)

Robinson Iron, founder.

Court Square Fountain, (sculpture).

1885. Figures recast 1970s. Reinstalled June 9, 1984.

Digital Reference:

Figures: cast aluminum; Base: cast iron; Basin: painted concrete.

Sculpture: approx. 25 x 12 x 12 ft.; Base: approx. 4 x 9 x 9 ft. (15 tons).

(At base, bottom center:) ORIGINAL BY/J.L. MOTT/IRONWORKS/N.Y./1885/RESTORED BY/ROBINSON IRON/ALEXANDER CITY/ALABAMA/1984 (City of Montgomery emblem) COURT SQUARE/FOUNTAIN/1885/PLACED BY CITY OVER ARTESIAN/BASIN AND CROWNED BY/HEBE, GODDESS OF YOUTH AND/CUP-BEARER TO THE GODS,/FOUNTAIN WAS CAST BY J.L. MOTT/IRON WORKS OF NEW YORK./RESTORED BY ROBINSON IRON OF/ALEXANDER CITY IN 1984 DURING ADMINISTRATION OF MAYOR EMORY FOLMAR Founder's mark appears.

Double-tiered fountain with Classical reliefs and ornamentation is topped by Hebe, goddess of youth and cup-bearer to the gods. The fountain is framed by cherubs and cranes, egrets or herons around the base.

Mythology -- Classical -- Hebe

Animal -- Bird -- Crane

Religion -- Angel

Animal -- Bird -- Egret

Animal -- Bird -- Heron

Outdoor Sculpture -- Alabama -- Montgomery

Administered by City of Montgomery, Maintenance, 934 North Ripley Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36104

Located Court Square, Corner of Dexter Avenue and Commerce Street, Montgomery, Alabama

Purchased by Alderman Thomas H. Carr on behalf of the City of Montgomery for placement on an open artisan basin in Court Square. The amount allocated for the purchase was $2,500, but later correspondence states that the cost was $7,000. Reportedly, the fountain was built for J. C. Flood, a San Francisco millionaire who deemed the piece too large. The Hebe figure was modelled after a marble by Antonio Canova. The design is attributed to Frederick MacMonnies, though later correspondence between MacMonnies and the City Historian in 1935 suggests that it may not have been his work. The figures were originally made of a zinc/tin alloy. By the early 1970s, the soldered joints had weakened, causing the figures to crumble. They were recast in aluminum by Robinson Iron, who had also done structural repairs in the 1960s. In 1984, the top tier, loaded with ice, fell off the central structure. The sculpture was again restored by Robinson Iron and reinstalled in June 1984. IAS files include documentation and correspondence from Robinson Iron, documentation from the City of Montgomery, historic pictures of the fountain's restoration and additional information.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Alabama survey, 1993.

Smart, Mary, "A Flight with Fame: the life and art of Frederick MacMonnies, with a Catalogue Raisonne of Sculpture and a Checklist of Paintings by E. Adina Gordon," Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1996, no. 120.

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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