Edith Barretto Stevens Parsons (American 1878-1956) "Frog Baby, " 1917, bronze fountain with multi-color greenish-gold and brown patina, signed "E. Parsons," with foundry mark for Roman Bronze Works, NYC. Provenance: Private Collection, Cleveland, OH.
Edith Parsons studied with Daniel Chester French in New York and at the Art Students League. After she married and had children she began the series of garden sculptures for which she is best known, beginning with Duck Baby, which was the popular hit of the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. The exposition handbook stated:In the presence of so much that is weighty and powerful, the popularity of Duck Baby is a significant and touching indication of the world’s hunger for what is cheerful and mirth-provoking. The same may be said of Turtle Baby and Frog Baby. Turtle Baby has long been a favorite of visitors to the Cleveland Museum of Art, here in Cleveland Ohio, where Neue Auctions is based.
Dimensions: 40 in.h.
Condition: Very good with some wear and streak marks to patina from handling and age. Has been in interior setting. Spouts in frogs mouths at base with some dents and bumps.