Amidst the vibrant greenery of Garfield Park, stand the majestic Bulls with Maidens. These bronze sculptures, originally created for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, have a captivating story to tell. The Bulls with Maidens, also known as the Statues of Plenty, once stood proudly before the Agricultural Building at the World’s Fair. They were immense, twelve-foot-tall plaster figures, crafted by the renowned sculptor Daniel Chester French and his collaborator, Edward Clark Potter, known for his animal sculptures. One maiden embodied Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain, representing the Old World. The other depicted a Native American goddess of corn, symbolizing the New World. After the fair, smaller versions of the Bulls with Maidens found a home in Humboldt Park as part of a 1908 outdoor art exhibit. The public adored these five-foot-tall versions, prompting the West Park Commissioners to cast them in bronze in 1912. A few years later, these bronze Bulls with Maidens were moved to Garfield Park, flanking the entrance to the formal garden facing Hamlin Avenue. They remained there for decades until vandalism struck in the 1980s. One sculpture was stolen, and the other was severely damaged. Years later, in 2003, conservator Andrzej Dajnowski meticulously repaired the damaged sculpture and recreated its missing counterpart. They were then installed near the Garfield Park Conservatory, where you see them today. Interestingly, the stolen sculpture resurfaced in Virginia in 2010 and was returned to Chicago. However, it suffered significant damage and remains in storage, awaiting restoration and its eventual return to Garfield Park. The Bulls with Maidens stand as a testament to artistic collaboration, the grandeur of the World’s Fair, and the enduring power of public art.
Центральный дом работников искусств
Step through the grand wooden doors of the Central House of the Workers of Art, and you’ll be transported to