Sculpture: bronze; Basin: polished gray granite; Floor: cast pebble stone and terrazzo
Type:
Sculptures-Outdoor Sculpture
Sculptures-Fountain
Sculptures-Light fixture
Sculptures
Owner/Location:
Administered by City of Bridgeport Parks & Recreation Department 45 Lyon Terrace Bridgeport Connecticut 06604
Located Park Avenue at intersection of Fairfield Avenue Bridgeport Connecticut
Date:
1912
Notes:
Save Outdoor Sculpture, Connecticut survey, 1993.
Image on file.
Palmquist, David W., "Bridgeport: A Pictorial History," Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company, 1981, pg. 83.
(Incised on lower rear of figure:) GORHAM CO. FOUNDERS (Incised on base of central fountain:) 1820-1893/THE NATHANIEL WHEELER MEMORIAL/ERECTED 1912 unsigned Founder's mark appears.
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.
Summary:
Fountain and accompanying troughs are installed on a triangular traffic island. A central mermaid figure stands in a round basin within a lower round basin, and the three animal troughs stand on the corners of the island. The mermaid stands on a sphere and holds a baby mermaid on her proper left hip. Her proper right arm is upraised and holds a round glass globe for a light fixture. There is a dolphin at her feet. Four children's faces on the rim of the mermaid's basin spout water. The troughs are roughly triangular in shape. Two have a dolphin or other sea creature water spout installed vertically along one side. Each creature is flanked by two conch shells. The third has a child's torso on the interior basin with its arms outstretched around the basin.
