At A Glance

• Commissioned by the Rittenhouse Square Improvement Association in memory of Evelyn Taylor, who was the organization’s president as well as the long-term president of the Flower Market Association

• A sundial composed of two children holding up the head of a sunflower, which is also a sundial

   

• Art historian Beatrice Gillman Proske referred to the piece as “a poetical reminder of the fleeting joys of sunshine”

The Evelyn Taylor Price Memorial Sundial was commissioned by the Rittenhouse Square Improvement Association in memory of Evelyn Taylor, who was the organization’s president as well as the long-term president of the Flower Market Association. The sculpture depicts two cheerful naked children holding up the head of a sunflower, which is also a sundial — a play on the theme of flowers and the sun. Art historian Beatrice Gillman Proske referred to the piece as  “a poetical reminder of the fleeting joys of sunshine.”

The sculpture embodies the fanciful liveliness that was characteristic of Beatrice Fenton’s garden and fountain sculptures. Fenton is also the artist who created Seaweed Girl Fountain at the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center.

Voices heard in the Museum Without Walls: AUDIO program: Beatrice Fenton, heard on archival tape, is the artist of Evelyn Taylor Price Memorial Sundial. Evie Taylor Price Scott is the granddaughter of Evelyn Taylor Price. Dr. Page Talbott is the former president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. | Segment Producer: Alex Lewis

Museum Without Walls: AUDIO is the Association for Public Art’s award-winning audio program for Philadelphia’s outdoor sculpture. Available for free by phone, mobile app, or online, the program features more than 150 voices from all walks of life – artists, educators, civic leaders, historians, and those with personal connections to the artworks.

This artwork is part of the Around Rittenhouse Square tour