Eagle Fountains, 1931
Frederick Cleveland
Hibbard
Columbus Plaza, Grant
Park
East of South Michigan
Avenue at East Congress Parkway
Twin fountains with circular pools flank Congress Plaza
and each features a bronze eagle about to take flight and grasping a fish in
its talons. The sculptures were requested by the South Park Commissioners as
part of their design for an impressive gateway to Grant Park and the lakefront.
The work was completed in time for the 1933-34 A Century of Progress World’s Fair, held in nearby Burnham Park.
Hibbard’s eagles, although highly naturalistic, also reflect the prevailing Art
Deco style, with the sweeping lines of the wings emphasis on verticality.
Frederick Cleveland Hibbard (1881-1950) studied with
Lorado Taft after moving to Chicago from his native Missouri. He collaborated
with his wife, Elisabeth Hazeltine, on the David
Wallach Fountain in Burnham Park and his first major work in Chicago was a
memorial to former mayor Carter Henry Harrison, Sr., in Union Park. During his
career, Hibbard also designed a famous memorial to Mark Twain, located in
Hannibal, Missouri, and a military memorial in Shiloh, Tennessee, commissioned
by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
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