After two years of restoration, the Fountain of the Four Seasons and the new maidens have been restored and rededicated and can be seen in front of the Memorial Union.
“This project began with concrete falling into the historic pool and the fountain’s sculptures at risk of collapsing,” Martin Hursh, the president of Student Government, said. “80 years of Iowa weather had worn away the details of the original limestone and put the Fountain of the Four Seasons at risk, thus beginning a two-year project.”
According to previous reporting from the Daily, the original Fountain of the Four Seasons, created by Christian Petersen, was a gift from VEISHEA and is seen as one of the hallmark Iowa State symbols.“The historic fountain is unquestionably the most iconic, most viewed work in Iowa State University’s public art collection,” President Wendy Wintersteen said. “The original reflecting pool dates back to 1937. Four years later, in 1941, Iowa State President Charles Friley commissioned Christain Peterson to create a sculpture to enhance the beauty of this sign.”
According to the Iowa State Foundation, the Fountain of the Four Seasons is part of Art on Campus, one of the largest campus public art programs in the United States. Installed in 1941, the fountain features four Native American women representing summer, spring, fall and winter with each maiden facing north, east, south and west.
“Today, as we celebrate the preservation and significance of the four maidens, we are reminded of the lasting impact on our campus,” Wintersteen said. “This marks the second time the foundation has been restored and rededicated.”
Then-university president, William Woodman, held the first rededication on June 6, 1998.
“We continue to use the arts today, not only to make this campus more beautiful and enjoyable but to enhance the education of the students who come here to study,” Wintersteen said. “The art is to remain an essential component of Iowa State’s culture and curriculum.”
In a previous interview with the Daily, Megan Moore, a marketing specialist for the Memorial Union, said, “When it was gone for 21 months, it was definitely missed. It used to be a full-on chain link fence, and so it looked like a construction zone. Now you can see it coming together, and so I think there’s a lot of excitement around that as well.”
Hursh asked students not to throw coins into the fountain, as the copper and metals in the coins can damage the sculptures.
