Depew Memorial Fountain, (sculpture).

Depew Memorial Fountain, (sculpture).

Calder, Alexander Stirling, 1870-1945, sculptor.

Bitter, Karl, 1867-1915, designer.

Bacon, Henry, 1866-1924, architect.

Depew Memorial Fountain, (sculpture).

Richard J. Depew Fountain, (sculpture).

Dedicated Sept. 13, 1919.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Basin: granite.

Overall: approx. H. 23 ft.; Basin: approx. H. 2 ft. x Diam. 45 ft.

(On bronze plaque on south side of basin rim:) DEPEW/MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN/A GIFT TO INDIANAPOLIS FROM/EMMA ELY DEPEW/IN MEMORY OF HER HUSBAND/RICHARD JOHN DEPEW M.D./WHOSE LONG AND HONORABLE LIFE WAS/SPENT IN UNTIRING SERVICE TO/HIS FELLOW MEN unsigned

This two-tiered granite fountain topped by a Naiad with cymbals features a ring of eight bronze figures joyfully dancing around the center of the fountain basin. The dancing figures, clad only in sheer drapery and garlands, represent the unrestrained reveling of innocent youth seeking an outlet for their energy. The Naiad surmounting the fountain suggests the rhythm of music, clashing her cymbals as she dances in wild abandon. Water sprays out of the mouths of four small fish at the top of the fountain and then cascades over the edge of a small bowl onto the ring of dancing figures, and finally into a large circular basin.

Mythology -- Classical -- Naiad

Recreation -- Dancing

Object -- Musical Instrument -- Cymbal

Outdoor Sculpture -- Indiana -- Indianapolis

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

Located University Park, University Square, Indianapolis, Indiana

The fountain, which cost $50,000, was given to the City of Indianapolis by Mrs. Emma Ely Depew in memory of her husband Dr. Richard Johnson Depew. Commissioned by Mrs. Depew, Karl Bitter created the design for the fountain, but was killed in a traffic accident in 1915 before he could finish the work. Although Bitter's overall design was carried out, the fountain is largely the work of Alexander Stirling Calder who took over the project after Bitter's death. Architect Henry Bacon designed the architectural setting for the sculpture, and Calder modeled the figures and oversaw the execution of the fountain. In completing the fountain, Calder made substantial changes to the character and grouping of the figures. See IAS 76005169 for Bitter's model. See IAS 76009083 for Calder's model of his Naiad.

IAS files contain newspaper articles from the Indianapolis News, Jan. 29, 1916 and Sept. 11, 1919; the Indianapolis Times, April 14, 1936; and the Indianapolis Star, Jan. 27, 1916; Aug. 25, 1917; and Oct. 8, 1917. For additional information see the National Register of Historic Places inventory form (1988) on file at the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985

Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, 1976.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Indiana survey, 1993.

For model see: 76009083.

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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