Rosalind and Marshall Fredericks seated during the rededication of "The Expanding Universe Fountain"

Rosalind and Marshall Fredericks seated during the rededication of "The Expanding Universe Fountain"

Figure sculpture, American--20th century.
Fountains.
Fredericks, Marshall M., 1908-1998
Fredericks, Rosalind Bell Cooke
Harry S. Truman Federal Building (Washington, D.C.)
Sculpture--Conservation and restoration--United States.

“The Expanding Universe Fountain” celebrates the nation's first exploration of outer space. According to Fredericks, the sculpture "represents this age of great interest, exploration and discovery in outer space...[and] the immensity, order and mystery of the universe.”

The monumental central figure suggests a superhuman mythological being. Seated upon a ten-foot sphere, covered in a pattern of bright-star constellations, the figure holds two planets that he is sending off into space. The dynamic spiral orbit-form swirling around the sphere represents the speed and perpetual motion of space. Play of the water from numerous star-shaped sprays increases the feeling of movement.

The full-scale casting of this sculpture is located in the South Court of the United States State Department Building in Washington, D.C.

The fountain is also known as: "Man and the Expanding Universe"

U.S. Department of State

Marshall M. Fredericks Papers
Series V, Box 10 Folder 7

1996

This image is in the public domain.

V-10-07

image/jpeg

Image

47

Washington (D.C.)

Color print

5" x 7"