The west wing court of the Tower of Jewels mirrored the east and held Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney's Fountain of El Dorado. Its subject, Todd wrote, was the legend of El Dorado, 'motor-myth of this western land.' A half-open portal stood guarded by two Inca figures, and on both sides the frieze showed 'a mad rush of mortals to pass these guardians, in pursuit of the Gilded King, before the magic doors of Opportunity should close.'
The Official Guide called its mood 'Realistic.' Todd cites its friezes, with some 40 human figures, as an example of the large reliefs the sculpture shops had to produce. Whitney received a Medal of Award for it (Wikipedia).
A mad rush of mortals to pass these guardians, in pursuit of the Gilded King, before the magic doors of Opportunity should close.
Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 2 (1921), ch. LV
At a glance
- Listed sixth of the nine fountains in the Official Guide.
- Todd describes another Whitney fountain, a marble basin carried by three heroic male figures, at the entrance to the Fine Arts galleries (vol. 4); Wikipedia records that her Aztec Fountain won a bronze medal at the 1915 exposition.
- It sat behind Rumsey's equestrian Pizarro, which stood before the west colonnade (Todd vol. 2).
Afterward
Not recorded as preserved in Todd's salvage account; presumably lost with the Tower in 1916.
Where it stood
Fountain of El Dorado stood at about 37.80194 N, 122.44261 W on today's map. The whole fairground over the city →
Sources
- Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 2, ch. LV, ch. LXI
- Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 1, ch. LXXII (40 figures in the friezes)
- Official Guide of the PPIE (1915), Exposition Sculpture
- Wikipedia: Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, medals