Yertl Garden - Springfield, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 06.299 W 072° 35.189
18T E 699558 N 4664251
The Yertl Garden is in the northwest corner of the Quadrangle. It is set apart from the other four sculptures that comprise the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden in Springfield.
Waymark Code: WMCM8F
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 09/20/2011
Views: 6
A well known Dr. Seuss character, Yertle the Turtle is king of the pond. He commands other turtles to stack themselves beneath him so that he can see farther and thus expand his kingdom. The stack collapses under its own weight, freeing all the turtles.
The moral is contained in the last stanza:
"And today the great Yertle, that Marvelous he,
Is King of the Mud. That is all he can see.
And the turtles, of course… all the turtles are free
As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be."
Yertle the Turtle sits on top of a stack of seven fellow turtles. He stands high on his front legs with his head held up. In the lower portion of the stack the turtles are more compressed. The lowest turtle is pressed against the base, which suggests a rock protruding from water. The tall sculpture is set into a recessed irregular shaped stone pond lined with cobblestone. There is a boulder at the east end of the pond.
The sculpture was the creation of Theodor Seuss Geisel's step-daughter, Lark Dimond-Cates and cast in bronze at Valley Bronze, Inc. It is located in a separate section of the Quadrangle and is not visible from the other four sculptures.
TITLE: Yertle Garden
ARTIST(S): Lark Dimond-Cates, sculptor; Valley Bronze, Inc., founder.
DATE: 2004
MEDIUM: bronze
CONTROL NUMBER: IAS 71500735
Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link]
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
Springfield Quadrangle
21 Edwards Street
Springfield, MA 01103
DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH:
spelling
Seuss nor Seus
|
Visit Instructions:
Please give the date of your visit, your impressions of the sculpture, and at least ONE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH. Add any additional information you may have, particularly any personal observations about the condition of the sculpture.