The Sculpture and Mural Decorations of the Exposition / A Pictorial Survey of the Art of the Panama-Pacific international exposition

by Stella G. S. Perry

The Boy with the Fish
Garden Exhibit, Colonnade

Bela Lyon Pratt, widely esteemed for his vital and imposing serious works, of which a splendid collection here exhibited has been awarded a gold medal, has amused himself and all of us with this jolly little garden piece, "The Boy With the Fish." It is a unique bronze, never to be reproduced or copied. Though hundreds of persons have wished to purchase replicas, no one can ever do so, for the owner stipulated with the sculptor never to allow reproduction. The moulds have been destroyed. But no one can stop the joyous memory in many minds of this spirited little elf, riding a turtle, struggling with his slippery fish and having so much fun about the difficult feat. One of Mr. Pratt's more serious works that is attracting the deserved attention of Exposition visitors is "The Whaleman," a detail of his noble Whaleman's Memorial. This sculptor has done much to encourage individuality and earnestness among the younger men, not only by example but also in his capacity of instructor in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Young Diana
Garden Exhibit, Colonnade

Janet Scudder, an American artist whose work has been as highly honored in France as in her native land, is known chiefly for her poetic and happy expressions of the out-of-door spirit. Her fountains and garden pieces are small and sportive but intensely sincere and never trivial. She has a pagan sense of natural imagery and a deep feeling for childhood. Her finish is delicate and perfect. The "Young Diana," here illustrated, girlish, with singularly natural untrammeled grace - slender, beautiful and novel in conception - was awarded honorable mention in the Paris Salon of 1911. The young goddess of the chase, the moon and of maidens, is presented as still more of a maid than a goddess, glad with the freedom of girlhood, unconscious of her Olympian inheritance. Miss Scudder has received the distinction of having one of her fountains purchased by the Metropolitan Museum in New York. This is the Frog Fountain which, loaned by that Museum, appears in the Palace of Fine Arts. Her "Little Lady of the Sea," also here exhibited, received notable consideration in the Paris Salon of 1913. She is the holder of a silver medal awarded by the present Exposition.

Young Pan
Garden Exhibit, Colonnade

One of the charms of the Exposition lies in the fact that the long rainless summer and beautiful plant-life of California permit the garden pieces to be displayed out of doors in the setting desired for them by their sculptors. This little Pan of Janet Scudder's, for instance, is far happier in his appropriate mass of foliage than if he were inside of a gallery. "Young Pan," a garden figure, is witty, elfin, very engaging. He is a seaside Pan instead of the woodland dweller usually portrayed. His foot is - rather recklessly one would think, were this not a magical, superhuman being - placed heel-down upon the back of a great crab. A pretty pedestal base, with sea-shell decoration, supports the baby god. This base, by the way, Miss Scudder attributes as the work of Laurence Grant White. Pan is enjoying the music of the two long pipes he blows-playing one of the unplaced wild lilts of nature, we may be sure. This sense of enjoyment and his debonair little swagger are festive and delightful. His mischievous gaiety communicates itself to the beholder. This humorous quality appears in another merry little god by the same sculptor, her "Flying Cupid," close at hand.

Fighting Boys
Garden Exhibit, Colonnade

Another evidence of the charm of outdoor installation is seen in Miss Scudder's Fountain of the Fighting Boys, so beautifully placed, with the waters in actual play, in the Peristyle Walk about the Fine Arts Palace. The original of this little fountain is owned by the Art Institute of Chicago. There can be no doubt that this fight is without rancor; the faces of the cherubic contestants are so gay and good-natured that only the determined little tug of the hair, the business-like pressure of chubby knee upon knee, the uncertain possession of the big fish that is the cause of contention, makes us see that a battle is raging. The boys fight merrily, evidently enjoying both the contest and the downpour of water that complicates it. An unexpected accidental beauty has been added to this and all the Exposition fountains. Some colorful substance in the water that plays upon them has given soft touches of the same rich ochre tone that appears in the columns. This increases the effectiveness and takes away the appearance of boldness or newness, substituting a weather-beaten and permanent aspect. When long spires of flowers are in bloom and reflect their beauty in this little fountain pool, the gayety and loveliness of the spot are entrancing.

Duck Baby
Garden Exhibit, Colonnade

The contagious mirth of "The Duck Baby," a garden figure by Edith Barretto Parsons, is irresistible. This plump little image of good cheer conquers the most serious; every observer breaks into answering chuckles as this smile-compelling small person, holding fast her victims, beams upon them. The frieze of busy ducklings on the pedestal base adds to the amusing impression. This figure makes such a universal appeal that thousands of postal card pictures and amateur photographs by exposition visitors have been sent in a steady stream throughout the land, scattering the Duck Baby's good cheer far and wide ever since the Exposition opened. In the presence of so much that is weighty and powerful, this popularity of the "Duck Baby" is significant and touching indication of the world's hunger for what is cheerful and mirth provoking. Another well-liked and winsome work with a chubby baby figure at its center is "The Bird Bath" by Caroline Risque, in which a lovable baby, with an expression of the tenderest sympathy, holds a little bird to his breast.