Turtle Baby
c. 1910–16
Edith Barretto Stevens Parsons
Edith Barretto Stevens Parsons (American, 1878–1956)
American Painting and Sculpture
Turtle Baby, c. 1910–16. Edith Barretto Stevens Parsons (American, 1878–1956). Bronze; overall: 104.2 cm (41 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Henry A. Everett for the Dorothy Burnham Everett Memorial Collection 1923.724 Parsons achieved renown through her garden sculptures of young children accompanied by animals, which one commentator praised for capturing “the happiness of just being alive.” In Turtle Baby, her most famous composition, the figure of the girl was modeled after her daughter. Conceived as a fountain, the sculpture has internal water conduits exiting the mouths of the four turtles circling its base. Parsons created similar sculptures featuring young girls and boys with ducks, frogs, and fish.
- Maker/Artist
- Parsons, Edith Barretto Stevens
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Formatted Medium
- bronze
- Medium
- bronze
- Dimensions
- Overall: 104.2 cm (41 in.)
- Inscribed
- Inscription: Signed on base: E. BARRETTO PARSONS COPYRIGHT
- Departments
- American Painting and Sculpture
- Accession Number
- 1923.724
- Credit Line
- Gift of Mrs. Henry A. Everett for the Dorothy Burnham Everett Memorial Collection
- Exhibitions
- The American Way in Sculpture 1890-1930, Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum, The American Impressionists in the Garden
- Rights Statement
- CC0
- Museum Location
- 000 Education Gallery
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