Acroteria: Griffin
- Date
- 1903–1904
- Material
- Sheet copper, gilded
- associated with
- Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Metalwork, sculpture
- Collection
- American Art
- Current Location
- On View, Outdoor, North Entrance
- Dimensions
- 57 1/16 × 47 13/16 × 21 3/16 in. (145 × 121.5 × 53.8 cm)
- Credit Line
- Acquired through the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 115:1945
NOTES
Two identical sculptures sit majestically atop the Saint Louis Art Museum. Alexander Phimister Proctor created the griffins to adorn the building, originally built as the 1904 World’s Fair Palace of Fine Arts. Griffins—mythological creatures with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion—have been used as architectural embellishments since antiquity.
Proctor’s original sculptures were removed in 1993 to protect them from the elements. Two bronze-cast replicas created by Modern Art Foundry continue to guard the Museum, while the 1904 griffins remain safely in storage.
Proctor’s original sculptures were removed in 1993 to protect them from the elements. Two bronze-cast replicas created by Modern Art Foundry continue to guard the Museum, while the 1904 griffins remain safely in storage.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.