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Boy and Bird Fountain
Artist:
Bashka Paeff and Paul King Foundry
Location:
Boston Public Garden, at Arlington St.
Location
Boston Public Garden, at Arlington St.
United States
See map: Google Maps
Neighborhood:
Back Bay
Type:
Sculptural fountain
Year:
1934 / 1977 / 1992
Medium:
Bronze and Granite
Collection:
City of Boston
Funders:
Unknown
Description:
Like the nearby Small Child Fountain, this work captures a young boy’s interactions with the natural world. A bird alights in the figure’s hand, and the two creatures seem to study each other with a shared sense of curiosity. Artist Bashka Paeff was born in Russia but grew up in Boston, where she attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Throughout her life, she continued to live and work in the Boston area, as well as at the MacDowell artists’ colony in New Hampshire. She created many public works of art in New England, including a monument to sailors and soldiers in Maine. The original Boy and Bird sculpture was installed in 1934, but it was later stolen from the park and has since been replaced twice.
