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  •  
    		• Laurent, Robert,
     
  •  
    		• Botticelli, Sandro,
     
  •  
    		• Young, Theodore,
     
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    		• Hulfeld, Joseph,
     
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    		• Loonsten, Frits,
     
  •  
    		• Wilhelm, F. A,
     
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    		• Fonderia Nicci,
     
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    		• Eggers Group Architects,
     
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    		• A. M. Strauss, Inc.,
     
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    		• Wilhelm Construction Company,
     
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    		• Mythology -- Classical
     
  •  
    		• Object -- Other
     
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    		• Animal -- Dolphin
     
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    		• Outdoor Sculpture -- Indiana -- Bloomington
     
  •  
    		• Fountain
     
  •  
    		• Sculpture
     
     
    Showalter Fountain, (sculpture).
    Artist: 
    Laurent, Robert, 1890-1970, sculptor.
    Botticelli, Sandro, 1444/45-1510, painter. (copy after)
    Young, Theodore, architect.
    Hulfeld, Joseph, architect.
    Loonsten, Frits, landscape architect.
    Wilhelm, F. A, contractor.
    Fonderia Nicci, founder.
    Eggers Group Architects, architectural firm.
    A. M. Strauss, Inc., architectural firm.
    Wilhelm Construction Company, contractor.
    Title: 
    Showalter Fountain, (sculpture).
    Other Titles: 
    Birth of Venus, (sculpture).
    Dates: 
    Cast summer 1958. Dedicated Oct. 22, 1961.
    Digital Reference: 
    Image
    Medium: 
    Sculptures: bronze and brass; Basin: granite and white Indiana limestone.
    Dimensions: 
    Venus: approx. 14 x 15 x 15 ft.; Each dolphin: approx. H. 5 ft.; Basin: approx. W. 47 ft. (2 tons).
    Description: 
    A fountain with a central bronze sculpture of Venus reclining on a giant clam shell, her head turned to her proper right, her arms stretched above her head. In the fountain basin there are five dolphins (though one was stolen in the 1970s and was replaced by a tuna) that spout water around the sculpture of Venus. The fountain basin is made of white Indiana limestone that is capped with polished pink and gray granite.
    Subject: 
    Mythology -- Classical -- Venus
    Object -- Other -- Shell
    Animal -- Dolphin
    Object Type: 
    Outdoor Sculpture -- Indiana -- Bloomington
    Fountain
    Sculpture
    Owner: 
    Administered by Indiana University, Architect's Office, 700 North Walnut Grove, Service Building, Bloomington, Indiana 47405
    Located Indiana University, Fine Arts Plaza, in front of auditorium on 7th Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47405
    Remarks: 
    The fountain was a gift from Mrs. Ralph W. Showalter in memory of her husband, and its theme comes from Botticelli's painting "The Birth of Venus." The sculpture was commissioned as the focus of the Fine Arts Plaza, and the idea for the fountain originated with Indiana University President Herman B. Wells and Henry R. Hope, director of the Indiana University Art Museum. They turned to Robert Laurent, distinguished international sculptor on the university's fine arts faculty. Laurent's original design called for a goddess kneeling on a shell, surrounded by nymphs. That design was changed because of height concerns. In 1954, a 18 inch bronze model was created for the redesigned fountain.
    A nearby plaque reads: SHOWALTER FOUNTAIN/"THE BIRTH OF VENUS"/SCULPTOR ROBERT LAURENT/EGGER & HIGGINS A. M. STRAUSS INC FRITS LOONSTEN/ARCHITECTS ASSOC. ARCHITS. LANDSCAPE ARCH T./GIFT OF/MRS. RALPH W. SHOWALTER/1961.
    IAS files contain dedication program; newspaper article from the Herald Times, n.d., pg. A1, and an excerpt from exhibition catalog "Laurent: Fifty Years of Sculpture," Bloomington, IN: Indiana University School of Fine Arts, 1961.
    References: 
    Save Outdoor Sculpture, Indiana survey, 1993.
    SOS Assessment Award, 2000.
    Inventory staff, 2001.
    Illustration: 
    Image on file.
    Note: 
    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.
    Repository: 
    Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
    Control Number: 
    IAS IN000711
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    Copy/Holding information
    Smithsonian AmericanArt MuseumControl Number 
    Inventory of American SculptureIN000711Add Copy to MyList

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