Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy News

Contact:  Laura Cook, 412.682.7275

Mary E. Schenley Memorial Fountain Gets a Makeover

(OAKLAND – July 29, 2008) – Ninety years after the dedication of the Mary E. Schenley Memorial Fountain located in Schenley Plaza, restoration has begun on the landmark and masterwork of noted sculptor Victor David Brenner.  Created to acknowledge Mary Schenley’s gift and later sale of land to become Schenley Park, the fountain sculpture is entitled A Song to Nature.  The figures above the fountain are an allegorical depiction of culture taming nature.

Perhaps best known as the designer of the Lincoln Penny, Brenner’s art was distinct and fresh because he combined both his natural and educated artistic talents with a tradesman’s knowledge of cutting and working the design in the metal itself.  A Song to Nature is a significant Brenner piece because it was his first large-scale public project.

Inspection of A Song to Nature found corrosion, staining, and cracks.  Because no major restoration work had been done for 20 years, a wide variety of problems were identified, including missing bronze elements, stained granite and bronze, and poorly functioning plumbing.  The inspection report also noted that there was no lighting at night. The sculpture remained impressive, but by this spring, the fountain’s plumbing no longer functioned.

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is partnering with the City of Pittsburgh Planning Department’s Division of Public Art, the Department of Public Works, and the University of Pittsburgh to restore A Song to Nature.  In fact, it was the University which obtained a professional assessment of the sculpture’s condition in 2005, when the sculpture suddenly became more visible due to the creation of Schenley Plaza. The restoration will include repairs, cleaning, plumbing, paving and landscaping.  Thanks to a recent gift from The Benter Foundation, lighting for the fountain and plaza will become a reality. “We are thrilled that work has commenced on the restoration of A Song to Nature.  It is imperative for Pittsburgh to show the world that we respect and care for our important cultural and artistic heritage,” says Meg Cheever, President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

With repairs to the plumbing just completed, the process of conserving the actual bronze sculptures of the fountain can get underway this month.  Representatives of the art conservation firm McKay Lodge will be on-site this week to clean and seal the bronzes.  Reproductions of missing components will be installed in October.

In addition to The Benter Foundation, funds for the restoration project have been made available by: the City of Pittsburgh through its Allegheny Regional Asset District funds; The Howard E. and Nell E. Miller Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; The H. Glenn Sample Jr. MD Memorial Fund through the PNC Charitable Trust Grant Review Committee; and the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation.  Restoration of the Mary E. Schenley Memorial Fountain is scheduled to be completed by October 2008. 

About the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is a non-profit organization which works to improve quality of life for the people of Pittsburgh by restoring the park system to excellence in partnership with the City.  Park restoration efforts are conducted with environmental sensitivity, respect for historic landscape design, and consideration of today’s recreational needs. For more information about the Parks Conservancy, visit www.pittsburghparks.org.  To learn more about Schenley Plaza and its programs, visit www.schenleyplaza.org.

For more information, please contact the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy at (412) 682-7275.     

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Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy News                     

Contact:  Laura Cook, 412.682.7275     

Quick Facts about Mary Schenley Fountain

• The design of the Mary E. Schenley Memorial Fountain was awarded to sculptor Victor David Brenner after a much-publicized design competition that began in 1913. Brenner, a successful medallionist, designed the Lincoln Penny, which at one hundred billion impressions is perhaps the most reproduced work of art in the history of the world.
• Mary E. Schenley Memorial Fountain was dedicated on Labor Day, 1918. Evening festivities drew a crowd of 4,000. Earlier that day, the Pirates completed a double-header with the Chicago Cubs at Forbes Field just a few hundred feet away.
• A Song to Nature faces Schenley Plaza, the grand entrance to Schenley Park.  Managed by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, the Plaza includes the grounds in front of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the Frick Fine Arts Building, where the Mary Schenley Fountain is located. The Plaza recently underwent a restoration that transformed the space from a parking lot into a public green space, its original use more than 100 years ago.  Among the many amenities offered at the Plaza are free internet wireless service, a one-acre lawn and large tent, the PNC Carousel, four food and drink kiosks, moveable tables and chairs, restrooms, and ongoing entertainment.
• Victor Brenner, born in 1871, and Michael Brenner (father of Joseph Brenner), born in 1885, were Jews from Lithuania (then a part of Russia). Victor, who learned die cutting and tombstone carving from his father, fled conscription into the Russian army and landed in New York in 1890. Saving money he earned in the Lower East Side jewelry trade, Victor sponsored his entire family’s emigration to New York in 1895, including Michael, who soon manifested artistic ability himself and studied at the Art Student’s League; Miriam, a pianist and instructor; Samuel, who became a successful Bronx-based architect; and Morris, a silversmith. Samuel’s son Daniel, also an architect, later collaborated with Mies Van der Rohe in Chicago.
• In 1898, Victor went to Paris to study at the Académie Julian and with France’s noted medallionist, Louis-Oscar Roty.  Victor returned to New York in 1906 to become a successful medallionist and public artist in his own right.

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