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1812 WILLIAM RUSH, 1877 THOMAS EAKINS, c1875 stereoview
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1812 WILLIAM RUSH, 1877 THOMAS EAKINS, c1875 stereoview
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This stereoview pictures the 1812 wooden sculpture "Water Nymph and Bittern" by Americas first sculptor William Rush, commitioned for the Philadelphia Waterworks. Thomas Eakins painted a series of paintings in the late 1870's about this carving by William Rush. This is the way the Rush wood carving and Waterworks looked to Thomas Eakins and perhaps the reason for the series of paintings unlike his other American realist works . When opened in 1812 it was a marvel of science and beauty. The first American sculptor William Rush's "Water Nymph and Bittern" was commissioned for the 1812 park and waterworks. It was placed on Canal Street at the base of Fairmount hill, the mill-race was on the other side of Canal Street. Wirh the exception of Niagra Falls it soon became the most visited place in America. This 1875 view was photographed from the end of the mill-race at the base of Fairmount hill looking Northwest accross the mill-race or forebay. The mill-race bridge is in the background. Beyond the trees in the far background is the water in front of Boathouse Row, only 2 tenths of a mile to the north. In 1805 Rush founded the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the first Museum and school for fine arts in the US. Thomas Eakins (a member of the Academy), painted a series of paintings about this sculpture in the late 1870,s. The same period as the stereoview card. The most famous being his 1877 painting titled "William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River". A fall or winter view the sculpture is overgrown, in bad repair, almost hidden at the bottom of Fairmount hill. The newer water pipes not only blocked Canal Street (which meant you could not walk close to the sculpture), but also blocked the view from the mill-race bridge, and certainly did not complement the neoclassic masterpiece. Seeing the work of the founder of his Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in this condition must have been at least a part of the inspiration for Eakins to honor the first American sculptor and resurrect this 1812 contribution to American Art. The mill-race and bridge are now parking lot and park. The pipes are either covered or removed. The sculpture has been long gone from its prominent beginning in 1812. The heavily restored sculpture is now at the Philadelphia Museum of Art along with Thomas Eakins painting depicting William Rush carving the sculpture in his studio. The Museum of Art is located on the ground at the top of Fairmount hill, which was the reservoir for the Philadelphia Waterworks until the Museum was built. Quite a view.
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