Cherub Birdbath - Fredericksburg VA - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

A lead statue of a cherub holding a concrete birdbath stands in the gardens at Chatham Manor across the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg, VA. A naked cherub with a cloth belted over his left shoulder and loosely wrapped around his waist holds his arms up to support a concrete basin on his head. He stands on his right leg with his left leg slightly bent. His wings are folded behind his back. A slate walkway surrounds the birdbath. The sculptor is unknown, although according to Chatham a landscape introduction, the statuary came from Kenneth Lynch & Sons. It is dated c. 1930.

Chatham Manor was originally built in the late 1700s. It went through several owners and changes over the next 150 years, including devastating damage during the Civil War, until the 1920s when Daniel and Helen Devore bought the property and began its restoration. They hired a landscape architect who extensively used statuary on the grounds, most notably in the gardens as accents and to draw visitors along the paths.¹

Today, the National Park Service owns the property. Although changes have been made to the original, ornate landscaping, some of the sculptures or exact replicas from the Devore years still remain, including the cherub birdbath. Chatham is open daily from 9 AM to 4:30 PM. Admission is free.

¹ Gardens lost in time « HORTUS 2

TITLE: (Cherub Birdbath) ARTIST(S): Unknown DATE: c. 1930 MEDIUM: Lead, concrete CONTROL NUMBER: IAS VA000050 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: In the gardens at Chatham: 120 Chatham Lane Fredericksburg, VA 22405 DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: If the birdbath is the original from the Devore years, it is probably from several years earlier than 1930. The NPS auctioned many of the statues when acquiring Chatham in the 1970s, but replaced the originals from the same source, Kenneth Lynch & Sons, in the 1980s. If this is one of the replacements, it would be c. 1980.

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