The Spirit of Youth, (sculpture).

The Spirit of Youth, (sculpture).

Corbett, Gail Sherman, 1871-1952, sculptor.

Corbett, Harvey Wiley, 1873-1954, architect.

Gorham Manufacturing Company, founder.

The Spirit of Youth, (sculpture).

Constance Witherby Memorial, (sculpture).

1933. Dedicated Nov. 16, 1933. Relocated 1992.

Figure: bronze; Base: polished granite.

Figure: approx. 5 ft. x 4 ft. 1 in. x 2 ft. 4 in.; Base: approx. 2 ft. 2 in. x 6 ft. 2 in. x 3 ft. 9 in. (5,000 lbs.).

(Lower proper left of figure:) Gail Sherman Corbett sc 1933 (Lower proper right of figure:) Gorham Co. Founders (Front of base:) THE WIND ROARS BY I FEEL IT BLOW/AND KNOW THAT I AM FREE TO GO/CONSTANCE WITHERBY signed Founder's mark appears.

Standing, life-size, bronze figure of a girl approximately 16 years old. Her sleeveless dress and her hair appear to be windswept. The upper part of her body is sculpted fully, while the lower part of her body is sculpted in high relief, as she appears to step out of the low, rectangular piece of bronze that rises from the granite base to about hip level.

Figure female -- Full length

Homage -- Witherby, Constance

Allegory -- Life -- Youth

Literature -- Witherby

Outdoor Sculpture -- Rhode Island -- Providence

Administered by City of Providence, Department of Parks, Dalrymple Boathouse, Roger Williams Park, Providence, Rhode Island 02905

Located Blackstone Boulevard at Clarendon Street, Providence, Rhode Island

Originally installed Witherby Park, Pitman Street, Providence, Rhode Island 1933-1992.

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. S. Foster Hunt, in memory of Constance Witherby, Mrs. Hunt's daughter, who died shortly before her 16th birthday, in 1929. During her short life, Constance Witherby wrote poetry, including the verse inscribed on the base of this monument. Harvey Wiley Corbett, husband of the sculptor of the figure, was the architect who designed the base.

The sculpture was vandalized in the spring of 1992. Vandals sawed off and stole the figure's arm and covered the figure in graffiti. After the vandalism, the work was cleaned and a protective coating was applied. The sculpture was then relocated to a more public area on campus.

IAS files contain copy from John Hutchins Cady, "The Civic and Architectural Development of Providence 1636-1950," Providence, RI: The Book Shop, 1957, pg. 242, which discusses the gift of the figure. IAS files also contain copies of newspaper article from Providence Journal (Providence, RI), Nov. 16, 1933, which discusses the dedication; and Providence Journal, June 16, 1992, pg. B1, which discusses vandalism, restoration, and relocation of the monument.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Rhode Island survey, 1993.

Providence Journal (Providence, RI), June 16, 1992, pg. B1.

Freeman, Robert & Vivienne Lasky, "Hidden Treasure: Public Sculpture in Providence," Providence, RI: Rhose Island Bicentennial Foundation, 1980, pg. 27.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, RI0017, 1989, pg. 26.

Cady, John Hutchins, "The Civic and Architectural Development of Providence 1636-1950," Providence, RI: The Book Shop, 1957.

Freeman, Robert, & Vivienne Lasky, "Hidden Treasure: Public Sculpture in Providence," Providence: Rhode Island Bicentennial Foundation, 1980, pg. 26.

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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