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The Fountain of Joy The Fountain of Joy (or Rabbit Fountain) was originally located on the south side of the Frank C. Ball home, Minnetrista. It was moved to the home of Alexander and Rosemary Bracken after the 1967 fire. The fountain was donated to Minnetrista in April 1998 by the Bracken family. The fountain is made of bronze and lime-stone and features a Pan figure; there are three rabbit figures around the base. It is 40" high and 13" in diameter at the base (of the boy). Each rabbit is 17.5" high, 5" wide and 6" deep. |
The fountain was created in 1916 by Helen Farnsworth Mears. Helen Farnsworth Mears was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin sometime between 1871 and 1876. She was the youngest of three daughters born to John and Mary Elizabeth Mears.
In 1892, Helen began her formal art training at the Chicago Art Institute under sculptor Laredo Taft. At age 21 Mears was given her first commission. The state of Wisconsin commissioned her to create a "heroic figure" to be exhibited in the Wisconsin Women's Memorial at Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition. She was awarded a $500 prize by the Wisconsin Federation of Women's Clubs for the work, entitled "Genius of Wisconsin."
Mear's success in Chicago brought her to the attention of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, a well-respected sculptor of the time. Mears's went on to become Saint-Gaudens' first female assistant.
Helen later won a commission to sculpt a statue of Frances Willard, the editor and temperance reformer. The marble statue was the first statue of a woman to be placed in Statuary Hall in the Capitol in Washington, D. C. Helen Farnsworth Mears died in her New York studio on February 17, 1916.
The fountain is once again the focal point of a garden, which also features a mosaic called, Where the Woodland Meets the Prairie. The mosaic was designed by former Oakhurst horticultural educator, Lisa Norrick, and was constructed and installed with the assistance of student volunteers.
The Fountain of Joy was sent to the Venus Bronze Works in Detroit for conservation in July 1998.
