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| >HOME >HISTORY/ARTS/CULTURE | ||||||||
FAIRMOUNT PARK SCULPTURE AND FOUNTAINS From the park's earliest days in the first half of the 19th century, its landscape has been embellished with artwork. The Fairmount Park Water Works, for example, boasted two allegorical sculptures by William Rush (1756-1833) widely recognized as America's first significant sculptor. The desire to combine public art with the natural landscape persisted when the park expanded, leading to the establishment of the Fairmount Park Art Association in 1872. Since that time, thanks in large part to the efforts of the Fairmount Park Art Association, the park has become a showcase for sculpture by noted American and foreign artists. Today, Fairmount Park has over 200 pieces of sculpture. Take a guided walking tour of select park sculptures from May 15 through September 25, Fridays 6-7:30 pm and Sundays 1-2:30 pm. Tours are given by the Park House Guides of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Tickets are $6.00 each and can be purchased on tour days at the Philadelphia Museum of Art's West Entrance. Tours leave from the Museum's west entrance and include the Fairmount Park Water Works site and Philadelphia's historic Boathouse Row. Groups of 15+ who are interested in a walking sculpture tour please contact the Group Sales Department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art at 215-684-7863. For more detailed sculpture information or to find links and resources to "all things" sculpture, visit www.fpaa.org. Still not sure where to start? See what sculptures are favorites among Fairmount Park staffers. |
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