figure study for a fountain design
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Accession Number
1955-38-47
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Elihu Vedder’s “Figure Study for a Fountain Design” offers a glimpse into the working process of one of America’s most imaginative artists of the late nineteenth century. Created around 1890, this drawing captures Vedder’s careful exploration of human form and movement, likely intended as preparation for a larger sculptural or architectural project. Vedder, who spent much of his career in Italy, blended classical influences with his distinctive symbolic vision, often infusing everyday studies with a sense of poetic grace. As a drawing, the work highlights the intimate, exploratory nature of a...