Figurative Bronze Fountain by Willard Dryden Paddock (1873 1956)
Our bronze fountain by Willard Dryden Paddock (American, 1873 1956) depicts a young seated boy squeezing a fruit or ball. With original copper tubing. Signed "W. D. Paddock Sculpt Copyright 1915". In good condition, with scratches, rubbing wear and nicks, and considerable verdigris, consistent with age and use.
Paddock was born in Brooklyn and attended Pratt Institute where he studied under Herbert Adams. After graduation he studied at the Académie Colarossi under painters Gustave-Claude-Etienne Courtois and Louis Auguste Girardot. Though also a painter, he is best known as a sculptor and acquired significant acclaim during his lifetime. He produced large scale figures, memorials, fountains and sundials, including a figure of Noah Webster on public display in Amherst, Massachusetts, and a war memorial War Memorial (1931) displayed in Stratford, Connecticut. His works can be found in the collections of Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, and the Indianapolis Museum of Art.