Pioneer Family, (sculpture).

Pioneer Family, (sculpture).

Richards, Myra Reynolds, 1882-1934, sculptor.

Pioneer Family, (sculpture).

Ralph Hill Fountain, (sculpture).

1924. Dedicated Nov. 9, 1924. Relocated 1954. Relocated May 25, 1969. 1980s. Rededicated June 28, 1980. Rededicated July 1989.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Fountain: limestone.

Sculpture: approx. H. 62 in. x Diam. 24 in.; Fountain: approx. H. 139 in. x Diam. 188 in.

(On proper right of plinth:) Myra Reynolds Richards 1924 (On bronze plaque on edge of lowest basin:) To promote neighborhood fellowship and identity/the Merchants and Neighborhood Association/dedicated this fountain to the citizens/of Indianapolis commemorating one hundred years/of Fountain Square life and history/July 1989 signed

A pioneer family stands atop a tiered fountain. The father rests a gun against his proper right shoulder and wears a coonskin cap. The mother stands in front of him, holding a Bible to her chest in her proper left hand and placing her proper right hand around her daughter's shoulders. The girl is about six years old and holds a distaff and flax in her hands. A boy of about 10 stands on his parents' proper left, holding an axe and wearing a coonskin cap. The sculpture is set on an octagonal pillar which rises from the three-tiered fountain. Each tier is a basin and the lowest is used as a planter. Concrete planters surround the fountain.

History -- United States -- Westward Expansion

Figure group -- Family

Occupation -- Other -- Pioneer

Object -- Written Matter -- Bible

Object -- Weapon -- Gun

Object -- Tool -- Axe

Homage -- Hill, Ralph

Occupation -- Law -- Lawyer

Outdoor Sculpture -- Indiana -- Indianapolis

Administered by City of Indianapolis, Parks and Recreation Division, 1426 West 29th Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208

Located Fountain Square, Prospect & Shelby Streets, Indianapolis, Indiana

Formerly located Garfield Park, Indianapolis, Indiana

The sculpture was a bequest of Mrs. Phebe J. Hill, as a memorial to her husband Ralph Hill, a prominent Indiana lawyer. The original fountain basin designed by the artist consisted of red Tennessee marble, grayish-red granite and green tile. It was replaced in the 1980s by the current fountain. The sculpture was removed for a time and placed in Garfield Park in the summer of 1954. The sculpture was returned to Fountain Square on May 25, 1969.

The sculpture and fountain were rededicated on June 28, 1980. In July 1989, the fountain was rededicated by the Merchants and Neighborhood Association, to commemorate 100 years of Fountain Square life and history.

IAS files contain related articles from the Indianapolis News, Nov. 9, 1924; and Nov. 10, 1924.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Indiana survey, 1992.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, 1976.

Indianapolis News, Nov. 10, 1924.

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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