Less successful on the whole than the blending of sculpture and
architecture were the individual figures designed to be placed against
the walls. Some of them were extremely well done. Others were obvious
disappointments. The unsophisticated judgment, free from Continental
bias, might have objected to the almost gratuitous use of nudity. For a
popular exhibition, even the widely-traveled and broad-minded art
lover might have been persuaded that a concession to prejudice could
have been made without any great damage to art.
In the magnificent entrance to the grounds it was deemed fitting that
the meaning of the Exposition should be symbolized by an elaborate
fountain. So in the heart of the South Gardens there was placed the
Fountain of Energy, the design of A. Stirling Calder, the athletic
figure of a youth, mounted on a fiery horse, tearing across the globe,
which served for pedestal, the symbolic figures of Valor and Fame
accompanying on either side. The work, as a whole suggested the triumph
of man in overcoming the difficulties in the way, of uniting the two
oceans. It made one of the most striking of all the many fountains on
the grounds, the dolphins in the great basin, some of them carrying
female figures on their backs, contributing to an effect peculiarly
French.