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Details:
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Architect:
James Sellars
(1843-88)
Sculptors:
John Mossman
(1817-90)
Stonecarver:
James Young
(1839-1923)
Granite Work:
J & G Mossman
(fl. 1816-)
Builder: John Robertson
Foundries: George Smith & Co. (att: Nisbet) and Henry Prince & Co
Ceramists: Minton
Location: Kelvingrove Park (east section), Glasgow
Date built: 1871-2
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The Stewart Memorial Fountain commemorates Lord Provost Robert Stewart
of Murdostoun (1811-66), and his greatest contribution to the city and its health,
the Loch Katrine Water Scheme, which provided Glasgow with a constant
source of clean drinking water from 1859. The fountain was inaugurated
on Wednesday, 14 August 1872.
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The proposal for the fountain was made in July 1868, and was the
subject of two design competitions held in 1870 and 1871, that drew about 70
entries from architects in Britain, France and Belgium. The winner of both
was the Glasgow architect
James Sellars
, of Campbell Douglas & Sellars.
The fountain was designed in the 'Scotch Gothic Style', and is 40ft high
and 60ft wide.
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The construction of the fountain was also a local affair, with John
Robertson as its builder and
John Mossman
as the modeller of its
sculpture, assisted by
James Young
, who carved the stonework. Its granite
work was executed by
J & G Mossman
. John Mossman's
bronze apex figure of Ellen Douglas, the Lady of the Lake,
however, disappointed
Thomas Gildard
(who documented much of Mossman's
life and work) in its inferiority to the original full-size model that
he'd seen in the sculptor's studio, and especially the dullness of its
gilding. The figure is nonetheless a fine work, depicting Ellen straining
to hear the call of her lover, James Fitz-James. The model of the statue
was exhibited at the RGIFA
in 1872 as The Lady of the Lake (cat. 697).
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The Mossman Job Book for 1870-74, records that their tenders for the sculpture
(£401) and granite work (£450) were submitted on the 4th and 12th August 1871,
and accepted by the Commissioners of the Glasgow Corporation Water Works, on 20
September -'subject in all respects to [the] terms of [the] schedule of measurements
prepared by Mr Herbertson...'.
Also in bronze, and cast by Henry Prince & Co., of London, are the four segmental
bronze panels around the base of the fountain. These include a fine
bust portrait of Stewart, the dedicatory panel, and two allegorical
reliefs based on Sir Walter Scott's narrative poem The Lady of
the Lake, of 1811. These represent Glasgow receiving (and benefiting
from) the purifying waters of Loch Katrine, and Ellen Douglas
being serenaded by the minstrel Allan-Bane.
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Young's carver work was praised at the time of the inauguration as
'alike spiritedly modelled, and excellently executed'. His work was predominantly
heraldic and mythical in subject, with the arms of Scotland, Glasgow and Robert
Stewart included amidst a bestiary of animals and aquatic life. Also included are
twelve ceramic roundels of the Signs of the Zodiac. The fish carved between the
roundels include a pike and a carp. Below them, around the base of the central
column, are friezes of bullrushes from which emerge a hunting dog chasing a duck,
and a moorhen, frog and heron.
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The shields flanking the bronze panels
feature the arms of the city and politicians (from the left of the Stewart portrait, and
running anti-clockwise): Robert Stewart and Glasgow; Provost Andrew Galbraith and Bailie
James Hannan; Robert Stewart and Glasgow (repeated); Lord Provost Andrew Orr
and Bailie James Gourlay. The Lion Rampant, representing Scotland, is also
prominently displayed on shields around the base of the fountain and on its
upper level, where it is joined by unicorns as supporters for shields bearing
the arms of Glasgow and Scotland.
The water itself flows from the mouths of grotesque beasts on the buttresses
and the central column, and the vases of four half-length water carriers in the
foliage of the column's capital. Just above the capital are the names of the
four principal lochs of the Trossachs: Katrine, Venachar, Drunkie and Achray.
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Until 1939, the granite drinking fountains on the fountain's outer
basin were originally surmounted by seated, iron or bronze Cherubs. These
can be seen in a number of published photographs taken prior to their
removal due to vandalism. Possibly modelled by Mossman and cast by
George Smith & Co.'s Sun Foundry, the cherubs appeared on many of the foundry's
other drinking fountains erected throughout Britain (a surviving
example is the Alexandra Park Drinking Fountain of c. 1900, which has
an identical cherub.
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A regular target for vandals and would-be-mountaineers, the fountain
was restored to full working order in 1988 by the Bridgegate Trust
(now Glasgow Building Preservation Trust) and the City Council. However,
the fountain is once again a vandalized wreck, its birds removed and
its grotesque bestiary damaged and its water turned off.
In June 2009, a further restoration was begun by Glasgow City Council's
Land and Environmental Services and their contractor, Hunter & Clark. This
will include the cleaning of the fountain's stonework and bronzes, and the
replacement of its defective plumbing with an environmentally friendly water
recycling system. The restoration will also include replacements for the lost
birds and cherubs. The work is scheduled for completion in August 2009.
The team at glasgowsculpture.com are grateful to Gordon Murray of Fountains
Direct Ltd., for the use of his 'cherry-picker' views of the statue of Ellen Douglas.
Sources:
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