Penguins @ The Philadelphia Zoological Garden - Philadelphia, PA
N 39° 58.236 W 075° 11.718
18S E 483322 N 4424512
Philadelphia sculptor Albert Laessle was a man with a genius for crafting lovable animals including these adorable penguin statues at the Philadelphia Zoo. It's hard to not run into one of his amazing statues anywhere between Camden & Philadelphia.
Waymark Code: WMDD4B
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 12/27/2011
Views: 4
These penguins are near the McNeil Avian Center entrance at the Philadelphia zoo. There were an instant hit with my kids who were so taken with the cuteness of it all, the quickly went to work duplicating the photo and had me snap a frame. The bronze statues feature two penguins, back to back, heads touching, each looking up in the air, chests thrust forward.
The statue was completed circa 1917. The base is of green marble, the statue is of bronze which I thought was in pretty good shape and did not show the nasty, tell-tale signs of oxidation. There is a little greening, however. Before coming to its home here, this sculpture was placed on exhibition: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts One Hundred Thirteenth Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1918, (no. 526).. SIRIS has the dimensions listed as:
Sculpture: approx. 32 x 34 x 14 1/2 in.; Base: approx. 26 x 28 x 19 in. As in all his works, Laessle name managed to find his name on this piece as well at the base under the tails: Albert Laessle-Germantown, Phila. 1917, signed.
Albert Laessle (March 28, 1877 – September 4, 1954) was an American sculptor and educator. He taught at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for more than twenty years. SOURCE