Pan with Sundial
Dublin Core
Title
Pan with Sundial
Description
Pan with Sundial by Beatrice Fenton, 1938
Pan with Sundial depicts a nude man squatting, carrying a sundial on his left shoulder while playing reed-pipes. His left arm was raised high and his head was turning left to support the sundial to be perfectly flat. The original gnomon was lost in transport. In order to keep its functionality, the university restored the gnomon based on research and guesswork.
The sculptor, Beatrice Fenton (1887-1983), was the daughter of Thomas H. Fenton and Lizzie Remak Fenton. Fenton studied at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. She the taught at the Moore College of Art and had her own studio at 1523 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.
Fenton was part of The Philadelphia Ten (1917-1945), a progressive women artist group based in Philadelphia. The group aims to provide network and support to women artist studied in Philadelphia. The group did annual exhibition in Philadelphia and traveled their exhibition to major museums on the east coast and in the Midwest between 1917 and 1945. They helped to present talent women artist work to the world and promote female perspectives in the then male-dominant art world.
Fenton’s most well-known work was the Seaweed Girl Fountain (1920). Commissioned by a businessman, the fountain was donated to Fairmount Park. Later Fenton was asked by the Park Commission to add decoration of a coral reef surrounding by swimming angelfish, and she did. The Seaweed Girl Fountain won the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts’ Widener Gold Medal in 1922. It is now displayed in the Fairmount Park.
Donor: Mrs. William Stansfield
Pan with Sundial was donated by Mrs. William Stansfield in memory of her husband, who graduated from School of Arts & Sciences in 1902.
Pan with Sundial depicts a nude man squatting, carrying a sundial on his left shoulder while playing reed-pipes. His left arm was raised high and his head was turning left to support the sundial to be perfectly flat. The original gnomon was lost in transport. In order to keep its functionality, the university restored the gnomon based on research and guesswork. The sculptor, Beatrice Fenton (1887-1983), was the daughter of Thomas H. Fenton and Lizzie Remak Fenton. Fenton studied at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. She the taught at the Moore College of Art and had her own studio at 1523 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.
Fenton was part of The Philadelphia Ten (1917-1945), a progressive women artist group based in Philadelphia. The group aims to provide network and support to women artist studied in Philadelphia. The group did annual exhibition in Philadelphia and traveled their exhibition to major museums on the east coast and in the Midwest between 1917 and 1945. They helped to present talent women artist work to the world and promote female perspectives in the then male-dominant art world.Fenton’s most well-known work was the Seaweed Girl Fountain (1920). Commissioned by a businessman, the fountain was donated to Fairmount Park. Later Fenton was asked by the Park Commission to add decoration of a coral reef surrounding by swimming angelfish, and she did. The Seaweed Girl Fountain won the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts’ Widener Gold Medal in 1922. It is now displayed in the Fairmount Park.
Donor: Mrs. William Stansfield
Pan with Sundial was donated by Mrs. William Stansfield in memory of her husband, who graduated from School of Arts & Sciences in 1902.
Creator
Beatrice Fenton
Date
1938
Coverage
East of the main entrance of the Penn Library. Woodland Walk, West of 34th.
References
McClelland, Jim. Fountains of Philadelphia: A Guide. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 2005. Print.
The Philadelphia Ten: A Women's Artist Group 1917-1945
Campus Art Walk: ‘Pan with Sundial’
The Philadelphia Ten: A Women's Artist Group 1917-1945
Campus Art Walk: ‘Pan with Sundial’
Medium
Sculpture: cast bronze with green patina; Base: stone.
Citation
Beatrice Fenton, “Pan with Sundial,” Art at Penn, accessed May 19, 2024, https://pennds.org/arth503640/items/show/22.