ART FOR ALL

Public art is often regarded as a shared cultural asset that belongs to everyone — but people do not often consider how it got there or who takes care of it.

The Association for Public Art (aPA; formerly the Fairmount Park Art Association) has been placing art in the public realm since 1872. Starting as a grassroots organization with a mission to enhance Fairmount Park with statues, the group’s charge quickly expanded to include exerting major influence on the planning and design of the city. Major projects included commissioning the first comprehensive plan to develop the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 1907 and the creation of a committee for the development of a municipal art gallery which became the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The 1907 Parkway plan was done by architects Horace Trumbauer, Clarence Zantzinger and his partners, and Paul Cret.

The aPA is the oldest organization in the city that cares for and maintains a historical collection of outdoor sculpture while continuing to place contemporary art — permanentand temporary — in public spaces. The following works of art illustrate how aPA has stewarded and contributed to the urban fabric of Philadelphia for over 150 years.

JULIA PERCIASEPE is the marketing and communications manager at the Association for PublicArt.

1 DYING LIONESS (1873; CAST 1875; INSTALLED 1876) BY FRANZ ALEXANDER FRIEDRICH WILHELM WOLFF

Dying Lioness was first exhibited in front of Memorial Hall as part of the 1876 Centennial Exhibition. aPA gifted the statue to America’s first zoo in 1878. According to the 1877 aPA annual report, the trustees decided “its location shall be without any enclosed grounds ofthe Zoological Society, so as to be, at all times here after, accessible to the public frequenting the Park.” The bronze sculpture has endured for many decades and remainsoutside the entrance gates, acting as a meeting place and site marker for this popular Philadelphia destination. 

2 DICKENS AND LITTLE NELL(1890; PURCHASED 1900; INSTALLED 1901) BY FRANK EDWIN ELWELL

Although Dickens rejected the idea of a memorial through his will, this sculpture depicting the famous author — along with Nell Trent, a character from his 1840 book The Old Curiosity Shop — remains a prominent feature of West Philadelphia’s Clark Park. The bronze group placed by aPA in 1901 has inspired a community of Dickens lovers and inspired numerous events over the years. The sculpture provides communal green space with character and a sense of identity.

3 BILLY (1914) BY ALBERT LAESSLE

The horns of this beloved Rittenhouse Square sculpture look golden from passersby’s touches (even though it was recast as recently as 2018). Billy was the second animal sculpture the organization helped place in the prominent square, the first being Antoine-Louis Barye’s Lion Crushing a Serpent. 

4 SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL (1926; INSTALLED 1928; RELOCATED 1953) BY ALEXANDER STIRLING CALDER

The Shakespeare Memorial was the first work of art placed by the organization on the newly designed Benjamin Franklin Parkway in the early 1900s.The aPA commissioned the first architectural plan for the Parkway in 1907 and continues to be actively involved with the cultural corridor to this day. In the 1918 Annual Report, the trustees say the memorial was “an essential feature of a comprehensive scheme of improvement for this part of the city.”

5 PLAYING ANGELS (1950; PURCHASED 1968; INSTALLED 1972) BY CARLES MILLES

This site-specific work creates a strong focal point along the Schuylkill River. The aPA worked with BLT Architects (now part of PerkinsEastman) to create the pedestals on which the angels stand. According to local legend, these sculptures acted as both a meeting point and backdrop to all-night dance party raves along the river in the early 2000s.

6 IROQUOIS (1983-1999; INSTALLED 2007) BY MARK DI SUVERO

What’s more place defining than a humongous knot of bright red steel beams? Mark di Suvero’s Iroquois enlivened a portion of the Parkway adjacent to the Philadelphia Art Museum that had sat dormant for years. The area is now called Iroquois Park. This sculpture, along with Roxy Paine’s Symbiosis, are key features of the Parkway.

7 CAI GUO-QIANG: FIREFLIES (2017) BY CAI-GUO QIANG

Cai Guo-Qiang: Fireflies by internationally renowned artist Cai Guo-Qiang was commissioned by aPA to recognize the Parkway’s centennial anniversary. Over 5,500 free rides were given to the public in 27 customized pedal vehicles with clusters of glowing handcrafted Chinese lanterns. Although temporary, the impact of the art project lives on.

8 MAJA (1942, CAST 1947; PURCHASED AND EXHIBITED 1949; INSTALLED C. 1954-1992; REINSTALLED 2021) BY GERHARD MARCKS

Maja by Gerhard Marcks has an incredible history. Almost destroyed in Nazi Germany, the sculpture was first exhibited on the east terrace of the Philadelphia Museum of Art as part of aPA’s 1949 Sculpture International. Now fully restored, the sculpture was the impetus for an entire park redesign. Working with Ground Reconsidered and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, aPA placed the sculpture in what is now known as Maja Park in 2021.

9 BAR NONE (2025) BY NICOLO GENTILE 

Bar None was the second temporary project for aPA’s Art on the Parkway program — an initiative asking Philadelphia artists to engage audiences and respond to the sites of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Maja Park. Art on the Parkway is an open call not just for visual artists, but for architects, landscape architects and other creatives as well. The aPA recognizes the collaborative nature of placing art in the public realm — it is a multi-field endeavor from the engineers and landscapers to the artist and city officials.