Richmond Fountain

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TITLE Richmond Fountain
CREATORLiang, Yi Bin
DATE 2018
DIMENSIONS 13 x 19 in.
ORIGINAL FORMAT Painting
MEDIUM Watercolor on paper
DONOR Hayden Special Collections Development Fund
DATE OF ACCESSION 2018
LOCATION Providence Athenæum: Philbrick Rare Book Room

In 2018, the Athenæum commissioned a watercolor to celebrate the repair of the Richmond Fountain which had not flowed in more than a decade.  The artist, Yi Bin Liang, graduated with a degree in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design the previous year.

The fountain was designed by the architectural firm Ware and Van Brunt from Boston, most well known for designing First Church in Boston, MA. Made of granite and designed in the Gothic style, the fountain reads “Come Hither Every One That Thirsteth”; while the fountain quickly became known as “The Richmond Fountain” once the donor was revealed, Anna chose not to emblazon it with her own name as was customary. The fountain was connected to the Pawtuxet River water supply, and people told the story that all who drank from the fountain were destined to return to Providence.

Annual Report of the Providence AthenæumProvidence, Providence Athenæum, 2018, p. 8.

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