Artwork Details
- Title
- Florentine Lions
- Artist
- Artist Unknown
- Year
- Cast 1849; installed 1887
- Medium
- Bronze, on concrete and slate base
- Dimensions
- Height 3'10", width 4'6" (base height 5'2")
Artwork Description
These two bronze lions are based upon originals at the 14th century Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, Italy. Cast in 1849 from figures at the Imperial Head Mechanical Works near St. Petersburg, Russia, the sculptures once guarded Bartram Hall, industrialist Andrew M. Eastwick’s mansion located near Bartram’s Garden in Southwest Philadelphia. Eastwick purchased the sculptures when he and his business partners were in Russia to build engines and cars for the St. Petersburg & Moscow Railroad. The sculptures were donated to Association for Public Art (then known as Fairmount Park Art Association) by Mrs. A.M. Eastwick, and given to the park in 1887.
In 2019, the lions were conserved and relocated to the main entrance of the Mann Center for the Performing Arts.
Artwork Credits
Acquired by Association for Public Art (formerly Fairmount Park Art Association)
Owned by the City of Philadelphia