BUTTERFLY CHILD
Spandrel panel Nr 1156Material: Cast-stone
Size: 25″H X 28"W X 7-1/2"D
This delightful image of a butterfly girl sipping nectar from blossoms through a straw was modelled in low relief. The highly naturalistic though improbably combination of human, insect, and plant life is conceived in the spirit of an Art Nouveau fantasy. This style of decoration, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, displayed organically flowing, often highly stylized plant forms and found expression not only in architecture, but in design, illustration, and even dress.
My model is based on an 1884 terracotta sculpture once adorning the facade of a NYC building (demolished in the 1960s) which is on display at the Brooklyn Museum.