Walking Tour

Outdoor Sculptureon Campus

Jean Gautherin (French, 1840 - 90)Female figure for the Lanning FountainBronzeGift from the Lanning family in memory of theirdaughter, Mary Tomlinson Lanning ‘12SCMA Collection: SC1911:1-1

Multiple paths converge on a circular stone walkway surrounding this sculpted fountain. The figure of a young girl, cast in bronze, places her right hand in a small fountain from which water trickles down into a large, circular concrete basin. The fountain fits seamlessly into its site; the neighboring trees and landscaping provide a peaceful frame for the girl. She was placed facing toward Burton Lawn, thus giving her the opportunity to be addressed by students on their way to class.

The American Art Bronze Foundry of Chicago cast the figure of the girl after a model by the French sculptor Jean Gautherin. The fountain, a gift from the Lanning family, was erected at Smith in 1912. Mary Tomlinson Lanning was in her second year at Smith in 1910 when she became ill and died. Although born into wealth, Mary chose to attend college in hopes of a career in social service. This tranquil spot on campus is her family’s legacy. The fountain is appropriately inscribed: “In Memory of a Beautiful Life.”

© 2004 Smith College Museum of ArtText and Photos 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 by Julie ZappiaPhoto 4: Stephen Petegorsky

Smith College Museum of Art Northampton, MA 01063

(413) 585-2760 www.smith.edu/artmuseum

This bronze sculpture is a larger-than-life portrayal of an owl, a creature of the night, known for its fabled wisdom. The owl’s outstretched wings look as though it has either just landed or is about to take flight. Its protruding head, bulging eyes, and sharp beak and claws contribute to an ominous sense. Those who pass by on the paths beside the owl’s stone perch may become the subject of its stare.

The artist, Leonard Baskin, was a professor of art at Smith College from 1953-73. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, Baskin explored in many of his works the concept of “man’s inhumanity to man.” He developed an interest in portraying carnivorous birds of the air such as owls and raptors, and made many representations of them in his prints, drawings, and sculptures. Baskin related these predatory birds to mankind, saying that the soaring aspirations of man are inherently wedded to a fierce determination to devour one another. “The owl,” Baskin wrote, “is perhaps the most complex and mysterious [of predatory birds]. He kills in hallucinatory silence, and ambiguously symbolizes wisdom and tyranny.” An anonymous donor commissioned this sculpture in 1961. It was displayed in this grassy triangle until 1978 when it was placed in storage during the Neilson Library expansion. The Owl was reinstalled here in 1990 by the Class of 1965, who chose the plaque’s inscription from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer-Night’s Dream:

“The clamorous owl, that nightly hoots, And wonders

At our quaint spirits.”

Leonard Baskin (American, 1922 - 2000)The Owl, 1962BronzeAnonymous GiftSCMA Collection: SC1963:36

5

Great Blue Heron is one of many sculptures produced by the prolific artist and Smith College professor emeritus, Elliot Offner. Particularly noted for his expertise in bronze casting, Offner found his inspiration in nature and created many sculptures inspired by real encounters with wildlife. Although bronze has been traditionally associated with large-scale public works, the artist used this strong material for a small, delicate subject, immortalizing the graceful creature here in its natural environment. The heron stands in a small pond next to the Lyman Plant House. With outstretched wings and upturned head, it appears to be on the verge of taking flight. Offner would tell of how often people recounted their observations of the bird to him including live herons alighting on the bronze heron’s wing. “Of all the public sculptures I have ever done,” Offner said, “none has brought as many warm thoughts as the heron….”

Elliot Offner(American, 1931- 2010)Great Blue Heron, 1987BronzeGiven by Dorothy Walton Mooney ‘49, Salome Edgeworth Walton ‘54, Lucy Walton Mooney ‘85, and Katherine Walton Day ‘81Smith College Collection

6

1 (See Map Inside)

2 Leonard Baskin, The Owl

3 Elliot Offner, Great Blue Heron

Lanning Fountain 4

6Stephen Antonakos, Once, Again

5Grace Knowlton,Three Forms from the Brooklin Series

George Rickey, Four Lines Oblique Gyratory Rhombus1

2

1

6

5

4

3

ParadisePond

Smith CollegeMuseum of Art

CampusCenter

LymanPlantHouse

Nei

lson

Lib

rary

Green Street

Elm Street

Route 9

John M. Greene Hall

Colle

ge L

ane

Although George Rickey did not mean for this sculpture to represent any specific organic form, he has said that the piece responds to the wind the way that its neighboring trees do, moving and changing with the breeze. The stainless steel Y-shaped post has four rotating blades at the top that are balanced and counterbalanced. The blades “gyrate” when activated by air currents, creating random geometrical shapes. The piece is an example of kinetic sculpture, i.e., three-dimensional art that moves in space. George Rickey was one of the foremost practitioners of kinetic sculpture in the U.S. The grandson of a clockmaker and son of a mechanical engineer, Rickey began creating kinetic artwork in the mid-20th century. This piece was created in 1972, then purchased and donated to Smith by the Robert H. and Ryda H. Levi Foundation, Inc. The sculpture was installed and dedicated at this site in 1993.

George Rickey(American, 1907 - 2002)Four Lines Oblique Gyratory Rhombus, 1972Stainless SteelGift of the Robert H. and Ryda H. (Ryda Hecht ‘37) Levi Foundation, Inc.SCMA Collection: SC1988:53

4

Grace Knowlton(American, 1932 - )Three Forms from the Brooklin Series, 1991Welded and patinated copperPart purchase with a gift of funds from the members of the Class of 1954 and part gift from the artist (Grace Farrar Knowlton ‘54)SCMA Collection: SC1994:10-3

2

While one might find it odd to see three large boulders at rest on campus, one might find it stranger still to approach those boulders and discover that they are actually sheets of copper that have been welded together. Even more surprising is the smoothness of their powdery metal surfaces, and the small openings in the “seams” that reveal the empty space inside. The artist, a Smith alumna, meant for viewers to have to revise their expectations of what a “boulder” is.

Named for the town in Maine where they were constructed, the Brooklin Series forms are nestled near some trees behind Neilson Library, at the upper end of a large lawn. The three “boulders” are placed in a diagonal line and appear to change their spacing relative to each other as the viewer changes position, for example, by walking from Bass Hall toward the tunnel between Neilson Library and the Office of Public Safety. These boulders also react to changes in the weather - their surfaces appear powdery when dry and muddy after a rain, and the patina (or chemical coating) changes color over time.

Stephen Antonakos(Greek-American, 1926 - )Once, Again, 2001Neon light installationCommissioned by Smith College

Smith College Collection

This neon light installation was created by Stephen Antonakos, a Greek-American artist whose daughter, Evangelia, graduated from Smith in 1997. Antonakos, known for his light sculptures displayed in public spaces and museum installations around the world, was featured in a 1997 exhibition called Inner Light held at the Smith College Museum of Art. Mary Maples Dunn, then President of Smith College, suggested the commissioning of this artwork as a way to enliven the otherwise dark and uninviting passageway located between Neilson Library and the Alumnae Gymnasium.

The design formed by the glowing lines is spare, yet elegant. This style contrasts with the flashiness usually associated with commercial neon signs. When approaching the tunnel from the upper campus, one can see how the neon tubes are reflected in the windows at the head of the tunnel, creating various patterns of light. Antonakos wished for the tubes to be illuminated continuously, stating that the changing intensity of the light during different weather conditions would diversify the viewer’s experience of the piece: “The people who live and work there will see a change throughout the hours. At night the tubes themselves will be very bright, but then in the morning and during the day, the neon recedes slightly, and reflections on the metal raceways become the emphasis, and it goes through these cycles.”

3