EDITH BARRETTO PARSONS
American, 1878-1956
"Duck Baby", A Garden Fountain
Dark greenish-black patinated bronze
Signed "E BARRETTO PARSONS / COPYRIGHT" to base
Marked "GORHAM CO FOUNDERS OAMG" and "G [lion] C" cachet cold stamped to edge of base
42" H x 9 3/8" W (base) x 8 1/4" D (base)
ref. 512SRD09Y
The figure known as Duck Baby was designed by Edith Barretto Parsons in 1912 and first presented publicly in 1913 at her exhibition at the National Academy of Design in New York, where it was shown as a fountain, catalogued as number 39. The work gained broader recognition when it was included in the sculpture program of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915, where it was met with considerable enthusiasm. In 1916 Parsons again exhibited the fountain at the Art Institute of Chicago.
After the Panama-Pacific Exposition, the model entered production in two principal sizes: the full fountain measuring approximately 41 inches in height and a reduced version at 23 inches. A limited number of additional smaller reductions were produced, though these appear less frequently.
The present cast was executed by Gorham Founders, the Fine Art Bronze Division of the Gorham Manufacturing Company, and represents a strong lifetime example. The surface retains a deep green-black patina with areas of verdigris and subtle tonal variation consistent with natural outdoor exposure. The finish has been stabilized and preserved beneath a layer of conservator’s wax.
The composition captures a young child lifting two small ducks, her hair swept back as if by wind, conveying a spontaneous moment of youthful delight. Parsons returned frequently to similar subjects of small children interacting with animals, including Turtle Boy and The Big Duck. This example stands on its original integral octagonal base, ornamented with low relief decoration of ducks along the perimeter. Each duck’s beak is fitted with copper piping intended to carry water upward from the concealed plumbing beneath the base.
Comparable examples have appeared at auction. Christie’s, New York, sold a 42 inch example with a pronounced outdoor verdigris in Important American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture on 5 December 2002, lot 106, realizing 45,410 USD. Sotheby’s, New York, offered a 42 inch posthumous cast marked EGF the following year, also with naturally weathered verdigris, which achieved 51,000 USD. On 8 April 2011, lot 114, Sotheby’s sold a smoother 42 inch Gorham cast for 23,750 USD. A 23 inch version realized 20,400 USD at Sotheby’s, New York, 8 March 2007, lot 117.
Condition: Retains a well preserved and moderately weathered patina with trace verdigris against an apparently original greenish-black patina. Mild roughness around the octagonal base from weather exposure. Spots of patina wear/loss. The internal piping system appears intact but has not been pressure tested. The surface has been carefully waxed with attention to maintaining the integrity of the original patina. A refined and ready presentation.
EDITH BARRETTO PARSONS
Born in 1878, Edith Barretto Parsons studied at the Corcoran School of Art before continuing her training in Paris at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. She further trained at the Art Students League of New York under Daniel Chester French, J. H. Twachtman, and George Grey Barnard. She established her professional practice in New York and remained active there until her death in 1956.
By 1904 Parsons had secured a major commission for the pediment figures at the main entrance of the Liberal Arts Building for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. She subsequently completed a memorial fountain to John Galloway for a public park in Memphis, Tennessee; a cemetery monument in St. Paul, Minnesota; and a monument to the Soldiers of World War in Summit, New Jersey.
Parsons was elected to membership in the National Sculpture Society and the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. In addition to public commissions, she produced small-scale bronzes for domestic and garden settings. Her best known works include Turtle Boy, Duck Baby, The Baby Goat, Baby Pan, The Big Duck, and her broad dissemination of a large series of terriers and other dogs both as stand-alone sculpture and as bookends.
Much of her bronze production was cast by Gorham Founders and Roman Bronze Works, both of New York.
She died in 1956, thereafter her work being issued posthumously by her estate under the authorization of Edith Gilman French (those sculptures marked EGF and often numbered, many issued in the 1980s).
