Water
creatures supplement her, but she seems made on too goddess-like a scale
to disport herself with them. It is interesting to contrast this nymph
of the fathomless trough of the sea with the arch and playful Water
Sprites of the froth and ripple, on the columns within the Court of
Ages. This statue is placed in the Forecourt of Ages, facing the Marina,
the court that is designed to graduate the richness of the larger court
toward the more severe facades on the Marina. Sherry E. Fry's work, in a
less rugged vein, appears upon Festival Hall.
The Fairy
Finial Figure, Italian Towers
The gay and gracefully ethereal towers on corner pavilions at the
entrance to the Court of Palms and the Court of Flowers, sometimes
called The Kelham Towers for their architect, are pointed by a long and
pleasing slope of wings. Carl Gruppe's slender Fairy stands upon them,
poised, as though just alighted. This finial figure has a pretty
wistfulness that suggests the whimsical firefly fairies of Peter Pan
more than the conventional gauzy creatures of ordinary fairy tale, and
is more like a female counterpart of Shakespeare's "delicate Ariel" who
sucks "where the bee sucks" than any other creature of fancy. The
curving antennae increase this impression. She carries in her hand a
whirling star. The silhouette of the figure is attractive and the halo
of sky behind the head framed within the circle of the wings, lends a
distinct charm.
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