Polar Bears, (sculpture).

Polar Bears, (sculpture).

Marchetti, Umberto, sculptor.

Mattei, G., sculptor.

G. Mattei Plaster Relief Ornamental Company, fabricator.

Polar Bears, (sculpture).

Digital Reference:

Concrete or cement and wire, painted white.

Approx. 62 x 22 x 51 in.

Two identical sculptures of polar bears standing on their hind legs. Each holds a snowball in its proper right paw, which is raised up and back, as if about to throw the snowball. Each bear clutches a batch of snowballs to its chest with its proper left arm. They stand in a throwing position with proper left leg forward. Their eyes and nostrils are painted black.

Outdoor Sculpture -- Tennessee -- Nashville

Anderson, William, Mrs., 1408 Edgehill Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37212

Formerly in the collection of Hill, Zema, 1408 Edgehill Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37212 ca. 1940.

Formerly in the collection of Robinson, John, 334 Hermitage Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37210 ca. 1939.

Formerly in the collection of Marchetti, Umberto, Nashville, Tennessee

Formerly located Polar Bear Frozen Custard Nashville, Tennessee 1931.

Commissioned from G. Mattei of G. Mattei Plaster Relief Ornamental Company, and created by either G. Mattei or Umberto Marchetti. Four polar bears were originally created, two for each of two locations of the Polar Bear Frozen Custard shop in Nashville, TN.-- one on Gallatin Road and one on West End Avenue. In about 1939, after the custard shops closed, all four of the bears were traded by Umberto Marchetti to John Robinson and were located at his residence for about a year. Then, about 1940 all four of the bear sculptures were purchased by undertaker Zema Hill. Two of the bears were placed in front of Hill's funeral parlor at 1306 South Street in Nashville. These two were removed in 1953 when the funeral parlor changed hands and are presently located at 1228 and 1229 Sixth Avenue North in Nashville. The other two were placed at 1408 Edgehill Avenue in Nashville where they are currently located. IAS files contain related articles from Nashville Banner (Nashville, TN), Feb. 18, 1980; and Tennessean (Nashville, TN), Jan. 4, 1987, pg. 1B, 3B; which give the history of the sculpture and its various locations and owners in Nashville.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Tennessee survey, 1992.

Nashville Banner (Nashville, TN), Feb. 18, 1980.

Tennessean (Nashville, TN), Jan. 4, 1987, pg. 1B, 3B.

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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