The Cider Press Sculpture

Across from the de Young Museum sits The Cider Press, a sculpture with a juicy past. It’s not grapes being pressed, but apples, a nod to a different kind of American tradition. The Cider Press arrived in San Francisco for the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition. The fair’s executive committee purchased the bronze sculpture, originally created by Thomas Shields Clarke in 1892. Clarke, an American artist who studied in Paris, had already shown The Cider Press at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago and even in Spain. The sculpture quickly became a point of conversation. Some critics found its subject matter, a man working a cider press with a boy sneaking a sip, a bit “trivial”. Others, like John A. Stanton, the Midwinter Fair’s director of art, considered it a “powerful, hearty conception”. He even worried it might be “too strong for the prudes” because of its realistic depiction of the human form. Look closely at The Cider Press. You can still see the boy crouched down, though his straw is long gone. Apples adorn the base, a reminder of the sculpture’s purpose. Originally, The Cider Press was a working drinking fountain. Some say it even dispensed actual cider. Today, it stands as a testament to a bygone era. A time when hard cider was a popular beverage, a time when world’s fairs brought wonders from around the globe to San Francisco, and a time when a sculpture of a cider press could spark a lively debate. The Cider Press in Golden Gate Park reminds us of this rich history, a quirky and captivating piece of San Francisco’s artistic heritage.