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Fountain Figure #4

Fountain Figure #4 is from Robert Graham’s collection Fountain Figures I-IV, a set of public art sculptures celebrating athletic female forms. Graham sculpted the model’s body in clay, then cast the clay in dark bronze in 1986 to 1987. The resulting asphalt gray metal sculpture is displayed atop a tapered rectangular steel base of about the same height. The base is painted black and is slightly wider at the top than the bottom. It stands on four thin metal legs that angle outward. The three elements together reach just over eight feet high, sixteen-and-three-quarters inches wide, and sixteen-and-a-half inches deep.

Graham is renowned for the extremely meticulous and highly accurate representations he made of adult bodies. Just as all humans are at least ever-so-slightly asymmetrical, this sculpture does not shy away from asymmetry nor over-emphasize it. Whether the unevenness is part of the model’s physique or a result of the way she stood, the sculpture honors it all.

The sculpted woman is very slim and fit, with high cheekbones, a thin, upward pointing nose, and a prominent chin. She faces forward with her head turned to face 10 o’clock. She has a serene, closed-mouth expression. Her long, slightly wavy hair is swept back from a high forehead and is pulled into a low, wide bun at the nape of her neck. Her neck is long, her shoulders narrow. Arms hang by her sides, not tense, but held slightly out from her body with her fingers open and relaxed. Her little breasts are high, the right bigger than the left. Small nipples are erect. The outline of her ribcage highlights the tight vertical bands of muscle of her abdomen. Pubic hair is full and textured, in contrast to the elegant smoothness of the rest of her body. She is standing with more weight in her left leg than her right, which pushes her left hip out a bit. Her right knee is gently bent. Both feet are flat on the base. Her right big toe rests on the ground, and the other four toes are tense and bent. The toes of her left foot are relaxed.

With all the curves of joints, muscles, and breasts, and the straight lines of taut tendons so faithfully rendered, this sculpture is exceptionally realistic. One could highlight specific features of her body simply by repositioning the lights, as this would cause shadows to fall in different places. The shadows could appear in the hollows of her collarbones or belly button or be cast by a hand near a leg. Shimmering spots of light could highlight her knee caps, the top of her hair, or the curved outline of the front edge of her ribs. Despite being one uniform gray color all over, the dance of light and shadow across her body very much brings the sculpture to life.