Sydney’s favourite fountain is the Archibald in Hyde
Park North. The name Archibald is associated not only with
this distinctive Art Deco showpiece but with the popular annual
Archibald Prize for portrait painting conducted through the
Art Gallery of NSW. Both are the legacy of a private citizen,
J F Archibald, both are somewhat bizarre and both are quintessentially
‘Sydney’.
Images
Archibald
the fountain
The Archibald fountain was erected in Hyde Park North
in 1932, a gift to the City of Sydney bequeathed in the
will of J F Archibald. It is intended to commemorate the
association between Australia and France in world War
one, and is the work of French sculptor Francois Sicard.
It depicts a bronze Apollo surrounded by other mythical
figures. Horses’ heads, dolphins and tortoises exuberantly
spray jets of water. (Tony Smith / City
of Sydney)
Archibald
the man
As the fountain is flamboyant, so was the man. In the
1880s AF Archibald founded the Bulletin newspaper, famous
for encouraging an Australian idiom in Australian writing.
But in his own life Archibald was fascinated by all things
Parisian. He changed his name from John Feltham to Jules
Francois and wore a little French style beard when no
one else was wearing them. In donating the Archibald Fountain
to the City he imagined its civic design and ornamentation
developing to rival the city of his dreaming. (Norman
Lindsay, Bohemians of the Bulletin, Angus &
Robertson, Sydney, 1965)
Site
for a fountain
This 1929 photo shows the place where the Archibald fountain
would go. The raw design and the slight foliage evident
in this photo is a result of the recent digging up of
Hyde Park to build the underground railway. The fountain
stands above the St James station. Note the bandstand
with raked seating in the centre foreground of the photo
(City of Sydney Archives, CRS 80/1468)
Watching
the grass grow
1933. Men in hats, the fountain and a Sydney landmark,
the T & G Building on the corner of Park Street and
Elizabeth Street
(City of Sydney Archives, CRS 56/565)
Postcard
from Sydney
The fountain was everyone’s favourite then and it
still is. Today it’s a chosen spot for wedding photos,
political rallies and just for meeting. (City
of Sydney Archives, SRC Photographic Files)
The
fountain by night
Getting the right ‘look’ for the fountain
after dark has been the subject of much discussion over
the years. This night image was taken in 1934, is attached
to an official file that discusses the difficulties of
presenting the complex variety of figures and water in
the best light (City of Sydney Archives,
CRS 34/ 5438/34)
Visitors
from France
In 1936 the sculptor’s son, Pierre Sicard, who had
made the architectural drawings for the fountain, paid
a visit to Sydney and pronounced it ‘one of the
most beautiful groups of modern sculpture’. He was
less enamoured of the methods used by the City Council
to light it with a festoon of neon lights.
(‘Designer of Memorial Visits Park – Sculptor’s
Son Sees Statuary’, Daily Telegraph, 18
December 1936.)
The
Archibald and the artist
This iconic fountain provides endless opportunity for
photographic creativity. This image was taken in the 1960s
for the City Council by Max Dupain, one of Sydney’s
leading photographers. (City of Sydney
Archives, SRC Photographic Files)
