Brewer Fountain is a 1868 bronze sculpture by
Michel Joseph Napoléon Liénard. It stands near the corner of Park and Tremont Streets in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, by Park Street Station.
History
The 22-foot-tall (6.7 m), 15,000-pound (6,800 kg) bronze fountain, cast in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, was a gift to the city by
Gardner Brewer. It began to function for the first time on June 3, 1868. It is one of several casts of the original, featured at the
1855 Paris World Fair, designed by French artist
Michel Joseph Napoléon Liénard; other copies with minor variations can be found across the world, including the
Steble Fountain in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
or the
Tournouy Fountain in
Québec.
At least sixteen other copies exist, including one on Av. Cordoba y Cerrito in Buenos Aires and in
Salvador de Bahia
Salvador (English: ''Savior'') is a Brazilian municipality and capital city of the state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognized throughout the country and internationally for its cuisine ...
, Brazil. The fountain is decorated with the figures of
Neptune,
Amphitrite
In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite (; grc-gre, Ἀμφιτρίτη, Amphitrítē) was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and the wife of Poseidon. She was a daughter of Nereus and Doris (or Oceanus and Tethys).Roman, L., & Ro ...
(Neptune's wife), and
Acis and Galatea, a couple from
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
. It fell into disrepair and finally stopped functioning entirely in 2003. A major repair project began in 2009. After a year-long $640,000 off-site restoration led by sculpture conservator Joshua Craine of Daedalus Inc., it was re-dedicated on May 26, 2010.
See also
*
1868 in art
References
External links
The Brewer Fountain, (sculpture).at the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
Boston Common
Bronze sculptures in Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in Boston
Fountains in Massachusetts
Outdoor sculptures in Boston
Sculptures of men in Massachusetts
Sculptures of mythology
Sculptures of Neptune
Sculptures of women in Massachusetts
Statues in Boston
Tourist attractions in Boston
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