Tritons Riding Hippocamps: A Pair of Fountain Figures

Renowned for her animal sculptures, Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington began to concentrate on outdoor sculpture after 1915. "Critics praised her knowledge of animals and her ability to make them affectionate works of art, 'She knows not only their forms but their movements, the way they carry their heads, the way in which their feet grip the ground. There is something immediately convincing about these creatures of hers.' (Royal Cortissoz as quoted in J. Connor, J. Rosencranz, Rediscoveries in American Sculpture: Studio Works 1893-1939, Austin, Texas, 1989, p. 74) Although the hippocamps are animals of classical fantasy, an amalgamation of equine and sea creature, the attention to detail and anatomy of the horses' heads is remarkable and demonstrates Huntington's mastery of her subject. Huntington's ability to capture dynamic motion in her work is also revealed in Tritons Riding Hippocamps: A Pair of Fountain Figures. The trajectory of the hippocamps' front legs create a sense of forward movement while the rotating figures also reveal Huntington's talent with the human figure.