RACC Press Releases
May 19, 2005
Skidmore Fountain Undergoes
Restoration
Changes are underway for Portland’s beloved Skidmore Fountain (Olin
Warner, 1888) located at SW 1st & Ankeny. Originally bequeathed to the
city by Stephen Skidmore, the fountain is the city’s oldest piece of
public art. Thanks to a collaborative effort between the Portland Water Bureau
and the Regional Arts & Culture Council, the project will include the cleaning
and repair of the bronze sculptures as well as an upgrading of the plumbing
and cleaning and repair of the granite basin. This conservation project, along
with an annual maintenance plan, will help ensure the fountain’s longevity.
The project also kicks off a series of special events scheduled to occur throughout
the year in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the City of Portland and
Multnomah County “Percent for Art” Programs.
The restoration project is led by local conservator, Marie Laibinis-Craft.
Extensive lime deposits on the bronze will be removed using a combination of
walnut shell blasting and mechanically removal by hand followed by an overall
cleaning of the bronze and granite surfaces. The bronze surfaces will then
receive an application of hot wax. A new water jet will be installed by the
Portland Water Bureau and the granite surfaces and mortar joints will be cleaned
and repaired including recasting damaged parts of the decorative lion heads
on the basin surround.
Photos of restoration work in progress are available on the Regional Arts & Culture
Council website: http://www.racc.org/media (Credits for Crane Lift: Wilhelm
Trucking and Rigging Co. lowering the bronze basin onto the fountain. Credits
for Conservators:
Conservators Marie Laibinis-Craft and Tom Fuller inspecting the Skidmore Fountain).
For more information about photographic opportunities call Robert Krueger,
RACC Public Art Collections Specialist, 503.823.5404.
Background
Stephen G. Skidmore grew up living near the present site of the fountain. His
estate bequeathed $5,000 for a drinking fountain to be erected for people,
horses and dogs. Writer and lawyer, C.E.S. Wood, whose quote “Good citizens
are the riches of a city” is etched into the fountain, was part of the
committee that made the fountain possible and who contacted the artist, Olin
Warner, for the commission. The final cost for creating and installing the
fountain was $18,000.
Olin Warner studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and opened a studio
in New York in 1872. His works are represented in the collections of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the National Portrait
Gallery. Two of his most important works are the Skidmore Fountain and the
design and modeling of two bronze doors for the library of Congress. The Skidmore
Fountain was shipped to Portland from New York in August 1888 and unveiled
and dedicated to the City of Portland on September 22, 1888.
Through vision, leadership and service the Regional Arts
& Culture Council works to integrate arts and culture in all aspects of
community life.
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RACC Staff to Contact
Jeff Hawthorne
Director of Community Affairs
503.823.5258
jhawthorne@racc.org
Mary Bauer
Communications Associate
503.823.5426
mbauer@racc.org
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