Iowa State University


Inside Iowa State
June 5, 1998

Fountain rededication is Saturday

Fountain of the Four Seasons, the Christian Petersen sculpture of four Native American maidens, will be rededicated at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 6, in a public ceremony in front of the Memorial Union.

The rededication celebrates the sculpture's recent $250,000 conservation and its return to the ISU campus after nearly a two-year absence.

President Martin Jischke and Lynette Pohlman, director of University Museums, will speak about the sculpture and its significance to the university.

Robert Boeke and Andy Lashier, representatives from the classes of 1948 and 1998, respectively, will talk about the alumni and student fund-raising efforts to fix the fountain. Both contributed lead gifts for their classes, which financed a large portion of the sculpture's conservation costs. The classes of 1946 and 1947 and other donors also contributed.

The sculpture received extensive cleaning to remove built-up salt, mineral deposits and bacterial growth. Conservation Technical Associates of Connecticut soaked the maidens in chemical baths and repaired cracks and other damage. New stainless steel plumbing also was provided for the pool.

Christian Petersen created the sculpture in 1941. The maidens represent the four seasons, the relationship of the earth's fertility to human life and Native Americans' contributions to agriculture.

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