The Muse and Pan
Pylon Group, Festival Hall
At the base of the great pylons that flank the columnar entrance court
of Festival Hall, are low pyramidal masses of foliage and flowering
shrubs. An interesting group by Sherry E. Fry is set in the midst of
each. The more evident figure, mounted upon a decorative pedestal, is
identical in both groups - a classic, flower-bearing Muse, who seems to
step softly forward. But though the Muse is repeated, the groups vary in
the smaller seated figures at the base of the pedestals. This variation
is not felt architecturally, for the figures balance perfectly and are
nestled in a mass of leafage. At the feet of the Muse before the
northern pylon a Boy Pan sits among the flowers, balanced in the
southern group by a Young Nymph or Dryad.
The gentle dignity of the standing Muse and the reality and softness of
her draperies recall the same sculptor's figure, Peace, exhibited in the
department of Fine Arts and awarded a medal by the jury. The
architectural beauty of these groups, in relation to the arched panels
of the pylons forming their background, is worthy of study. It will be
seen that the group, in spite of its statuesque quality, is actually
part of the wall surface. The beauty of the ensemble is greatly enhanced
by the sympathetic planting.
Boy Pan
Detail, Pylon Group, Festival Hall
Without doubt the most popular, if not the most admired, of the statues
that adorn Festival Hall is the "Boy Pan," nestled in the foliage at the
base of the pedestal in the group just described.
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