PLAN Benjamin Ferguson's 1905 $1 million charitable trust gift to "memorialize events in American History,"[14] funded this fountain and many other public works in Chicago.[15][16] The sculpture was originally planned to be made from granite.[12] Another plan called for it to be chiseled out of Georgia marble at a cost of US$30,000 per year for five years. It was intended to be part of a Midway beautification that would have included a stream, lagoons and a series of bridges— a Bridge of Arts at Woodlawn Avenue would have been more elaborate than a Bridge of Religion at Ellis Avenue and a Bridge of Science at Madison Avenue.[17][18]
PLAN The statue was intended to be matched by a sister fountain, Fountain of Creation, on the opposite end of the Midway, which was never completed.[3][5] The partially completed work is considered Taft's final work. The completed sculptures for the fountain were given to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his alma mater. Two surviving elements stand outside the entrance to the Main Library and two stand at the south side of Foellinger Auditorium.[19] One of the figures at the auditorium is titled A Son of Ducalion.[20] The four figures range in height from 5 to 7 feet (1.5 to 2.1 m) and are collectively named Sons and Daughters of Deucalion and Pyrrha.[18]
INSTALL The Fountain's location in Washington Park near Midway Plaisance places it inside the Chicago Park District. The fountain's location in the Washington Park community area on Chicago's South Side places it amid poor indifferent neighborhoods that are not concerned with the arts.[9] The reflecting pool basin was designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw.[13] The fountain is considered to be the most important piece of monumental art in the Park District, which hosts over 100 pieces of art.[8][9] Its importance stems from its sculptor, its message and the era in which it was created.[10] It is the first finished art piece to be made of any type of concrete.[7]
INSTALLThere is little agreement on the dimensions of the fountain with various sources describing it at 102 to 127 feet (31.1 to 38.7 m) long.[9][2][10] One of the few precise (using inches) dimension estimates describes the fountain at 126 feet 10 inches (38.7 m) long, 23 feet 6 inches (7.2 m) wide and 24 feet (7.3 m) tall.[1]
INSTALLThe waters began running for the first time in the completed sculpture on September 1, 1920,[4] but the sculpture was not dedicated to the city until November 15, 1922.[2] University of Chicago President Harry Pratt Judson delivered the address at the dedication ceremony at the Midway Plaisance before a short talk by Taft. Charles Hutchinson, President of the B.F. Ferguson Trust, and John Barton Payne, President of the South Park Board, also spoke.[21][2] The sculpture was installed in 1922 around a large reflecting pool.
DESIGN The sculpture is made of hollow-cast concrete form reinforced with steel that was cast in a 4500-piece mold.[3] The fountain was molded with 250 short tons (226.8 t) of a material that some sources described as concrete-like and that was made of pebbles from the Potomac River.[2] The material composition of the sculpture was a new compound at the time. John Early of Washington, DC determined that by crushing pebbles he could create a new concrete mixture that was more durable than limestone but cheaper than marble and bronze.[6] Additionally, the reflection off of the silica of the crushed stones complemented the endurance with artistic beauty. The same material was used at Chicago's Fine Arts Building.[6]
DESIGNAlthough numerous generic representations were used in the various sculptures, Taft included himself as one of the figures. He appears along the west side of the sculpture. He is posed with his head bowed and hands clasped behind his back, while wearing a smock.[3] One of his assistants is depicted following him.[10] His daughters also served as models.[22]
DESIGN The statue commemorates 100 years of peace between the United States and Great Britain since the Treaty of Ghent concluded the War of 1812 on December 24, 1814.[3] Its title (Fountain of Time) comes from the poetry of Henry Austin Dobson Paradox of Time:[23] "Time goes, you say? Ah no, Alas, time stays, we go," according to Taft.[3][4][24] The fountain is compared thematically to William Shakespeare's All the world's a stage monologue in As You Like It that is sometimes referred to as the Seven Ages of Man monologue because it describes the seven stages of infant, schoolboy, lover, soldier, justice, old age, and dementia.[24] Taft's figures represent birth, the struggle for existence, love, family life, religion, poetry and war.[25]
DESIGN The sculpture depicts a hooded stationary Father Time watching over a parade of an elliptical section of 100 humans. The allegorical procession of humans is suppose to depict the entire spectrum of humanity at various stages of life.[17][4][10] Father time carries a scythe in the depiction.[26] The contemporary 1920s Chicago Daily Tribune describes the figures as heroic,[4][27][28] and that choice of adjective has stayed with the piece.[9] The figures are said to be passing in review as they rush through the stages of life.[24] Father Time is described as huge, weird, and dominant in various newspaper articles.[27] The sculpture is described as having pyramidal geometry and poetic theme that was developed sculpturally.[24][28]
DESIGN Although Taft is now better remembered for his books such as The History of American Sculpture (1903), which is regarded as the first comprehensive work on the subject in the title, he was in his day well-known for portraits and allegorical public sculpture. Fountain of Time is a primary example of his allegorical public sculptures.[29] The fountain was produced in the period following his assignment to design sculptures for William Le Baron Jenney's Horticultural Building when he designed several large-scale public works, including Fountain of the Great Lakes.[30] Taft resided in Illinois most of his life.[31]