Figures at east and west of sunken gardens. Flanking the east and west
stairways are two groups by Paul Manship. The one representing two girls
dancing or running is called sometimes "Festivity," sometimes "Motion."
Here the artist has welded the figures into an ornamental design in a
way unparalleled in the work of other American sculptors. Note the
finely varied outline, the sense of rhythmic motion, and the rich
feeling that every part is decorative. The opposite group is called
"Music" or "Music and Poetry." It lacks the flowing grace and something
of the richness of feeling of the other, though it is more dignified.
There is the same conventionalization in treatment, again charming.
These groups are not for people who look for realism in art above all
else; but for those who care for the classic, who see in formalization a
short-cut to the expression of the spirit of a thing, there are few more
appealing groups in the grounds. The figures are repeated at the east
and west entrances to the garden.
Minor Sculptures. The slender "Stars" along the top of the colonnade are
the work of A. Stirling Calder. When one remembers that this is the
Court of the Universe, they seem to fit in with the meaning of the
whole, and architecturally their symmetry of form fits them well for
repetition. The low relief friezes on the corner pavilions represent
"The Signs of the Zodiac," and are by Hermon A.
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