Hear the Manager of Campus Collections (PP519)

Scudder Plaza may be the most relaxing spot on campus: you can catch the cooling spray from James FitzGerald’s monumental sculpture, Fountain of Freedom, or be soothed by the sounds of its cascading water. At twenty-three feet high, Fountain of Freedom is one of the largest cast bronze sculptures in the U.S. Inspired by the rugged beauty of the artist’s native Pacific Northwest, the grooves, channels, and spires of the six-ton sculpture—reminiscent of naturally eroded forms—are meant to symbolize Woodrow Wilson’s aspirations and frustrations.

FitzGerald began his career as a painter, first studying with the great Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco and then working on WPA-funded murals throughout the U.S, including in New York, where he lived briefly with Jackson Pollock. After studying at Yale’s School of Architecture, FitzGerald returned west, where he began making monumental sculpture. There are five public fountains designed by FitzGerald in Seattle, including one for the IBM building designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the architect of the Woodrow Wilson School.