Dimensions 12 m (38 ft) Phone +1 202-737-4215 Year 1951 | Artist Sidney Waugh Created 1951 | |
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Type Bronze, Granite, Quartz Location Washington, D.C., United States Address National Gallery of Art, 401 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20565, USA Hours Open today · Open 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hoursFridayOpen 24 hoursSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSundayOpen 24 hoursMondayOpen 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hours Owner United States Department of the Interior Similar National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art Sculpt, National Gallery of Art East B, Petersen House, Renwick Gallery of the Smith | ||
The Andrew W. Mellon Memorial Fountain is a bronze fountain sculpture by Sidney Waugh as a memorial to Andrew W. Mellon. It is located in Washington D.C., United States, just north of the National Gallery of Art, at Pennsylvania Avenue, Constitution Avenue, and 6th Street NW. The fountain is maintained by the Department of the Interior and was dedicated on May 9, 1952, by Harry S. Truman.
Contents
Description
The round fountain is made up of three small-to-large nested bronze basins, which sit in a granite outer basin. The outer, and largest, bronze basin is decorated in zodiac signs which sit in their "correct astrological position for the sun's rays." The small basin serves as the venue for a 20 foot tall water spouting jet. The water then proceeds to spill over the small basin and over the edge of the other basins, eventually over and into the granite basin. Surrounding the fountain is a seven foot wide granite walkway and a semi-circular granite bench.
The inscription on the bench reads:
1855.ANDREW W. MELLON.1937 FINANCIER.INDUSTRIALIST.STATESMAN SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY 1921-1932 AMBASSADOR TO GREAT BRITAIN 1932-1933 FOUNDER OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 1937 THIS FOUNTAIN IS A TRIBUTE FROM HIS FRIENDSInformation
"It sits like an island, traffic whizzing by on the three major arteries." - Gary Tischler
The fountain serves as a tribute to Andrew Mellon who served as Secretary of the Treasury from 1921–1932 and ambassador to Great Britain from 1932-1933. The fountain shares a Classical architecture style with and sits close by to the National Gallery of Art where Mellon donated his art collection, as well as funding to build the art museum. This memorial fountain cost $300,000, which was donated by Mellon's friends through the Andrew W. Mellon Memorial Committee. The fountain was dedicated on May 9, 1952 and sits on the former site of the Saint James Hotel.
Creation
Authorized by Congress on July 16, 1947, the fountains cascading design was inspired by a fountain in Genoa, Italy. Tuck and Eipel served as the structural engineers and Edward E. Ashley Associates were the mechanical engineers. While excavating for the fountain a 7 ft. x 8 ft. underground tunnel was discovered. The tunnel had to be backfilled with concrete to make a proper bearing capacity for the fountain. Two concentric rings of 30-ton concrete piles had to be driven down 30–40 ft. into the ground to ensure that the ground was level. The largest bronze basin was the largest of its kind ever cast at the time and required "casting in four sections" which had to be fitted together "with great precision." The fountain was cast by the General Bronze Company and Modern Art Factory may have cast the zodiac signs. The pink granite used is from the Swenson Pink Granite Quarry in South Berwick, Maine.
The Aries zodiac faces directly east with the Libra symbol facing west and the Virgo symbol arranged along Pennsylvania Avenue, leading to some believing that Masonic influences were essential in the architecture. On the vernal equinox the sun directly hits Aries, which then faces the rising sun a month later.
Condition
In 1993 the fountain was surveyed by the Smithsonian Institution's Save Outdoor Sculpture! program and was described as "well maintained."
Sidney Waugh
Sidney Waugh, who designed the zodiacs, also designed the sculptures seen outside of the National Archives and Records Administration and the Federal Reserve Board buildings in Washington, D.C.