figure study for a fountain design
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Accession Number
1955-38-45-b
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Elihu Vedder’s “Figure Study for a Fountain Design” captures a quiet moment of artistic planning from around 1890. Created late in the American artist’s career, this drawing served as a preparatory work for a larger sculptural project, revealing how Vedder approached the integration of human forms with architectural elements. Such studies highlight the careful thought behind public fountains, which often blended classical motifs with modern American sensibilities in the late nineteenth century. Housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the piece arrived as a generous gift from the Americ...