Fountain of Apollo, (sculpture).

Fountain of Apollo, (sculpture).

Rhind, John Massey, 1860-1936, sculptor.

Faitini, Pietro, carver.

Jno. Williams, Inc., founder.

H. & R. Roots Company, contractor.

Fountain of Apollo, (sculpture).

Commissioned 1900. Dedicated 1902.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze and white Istrian marble; Fountain basin: concrete, marble.

Sculpture: approx. 12 x 14 x 16 ft.; Basin: approx. D. 2 ft. x Diam. 60 ft.

Full-length bronze figure of Apollo driving a chariot. He wears a cape which flies out behind him. In his proper right hand he holds a whip, which he holds high above his head. He holds the horses' reins in his proper left hand. The bronze chariot is pulled by two white marble horses. The horses are being reined in; only the front of their torsos is visible. Each horse has its proper left foreleg extended and its proper right foreleg bent. Holding onto each side of the chariot are mermaids. They hold conch shells to their mouths, as if sounding a horn. Placed between the horses in front are two small marble cherubs. The cherub on the proper left is holding a large fish. The fish's mouth is wide open. The cherub on the proper right holds its proper right hand to its mouth. Its proper left hand rests on the fish. The sculpture stands in the center of a marble-rimmed concrete fountain basin. Water sprays from the horses' nostrils, the conch shells held by the mermaids, and the mouths of the fish held by the cherubs. In a circular arrangement between the sculpture and the rim of the basin, eight cylindrical forms spray water nearly twenty-five feet into the air.

Mythology -- Classical -- Apollo

Animal -- Horse

Religion -- Angel

Literature -- Character -- Mermaid

Architecture -- Vehicle -- Carriage

Outdoor Sculpture -- New Jersey -- Lakewood

Administered by Georgian Court College, 900 Lakewood Avenue, Lakewood, New Jersey 08701

Located Georgian Court College, Traffic circle, Italian Gardens, Lakewood, New Jersey

Formerly in the collection of Gould, George, Georgian Court, Lakewood, New Jersey 1902-1924.

The sculpture and fountain were commissioned by George Gould as a birthday gift for his wife. Rhind designed the fountain after figural motifs at Versailles. Faitini carved the sculpture in Italy. The bronze figures were cast by John Williams, Inc. in New York. The fountain pump mechanism was manufactured by H. & R. Roots Company in Indianapolis. The Gould estate was purchased by Georgian Court College in 1924. The fountain operates twice a year. IAS files contain copy of related excerpt from M. Christina Geis' "Georgian Court: An Estate of the Gilded Age", Cranbury, NJ: Assoc. University Presses, 1991, pg. 148-151.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, New Jersey survey, 1995.

Inventory staff, 2000.

Geis, M. Christina, "Georgian Court: An Estate of the Gilded Age," Cranbury, NJ: Assoc. University Presses, 1991.

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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