old earthy entanglements that hold him down, and destroy him. This group
and the main fountain, as well as the sides of the beautiful court, are
mirrored in the long still pool in which the fountain stands - a pool
properly free from splashes or springs as befits the setting of this
intricate and massive work. The rapid and stable growth of Robert I.
Aitken, sculptor of the Fountain of Earth, is of particular interest to
San Francisco, the city of his birth, and the site of several of his
earlier efforts.



Water Sprites
Base of Column, Court of Ages



The "Water Sprite Columns" in the Court of Ages bring the somber
symbolism of this court back to the gay spirit of festival. The sprites
are the work of Leo Lentelli; they have a quaint elfin quality that is
very engaging. The amusing and lovely group seated about the base of the
column have a certain chic habit of pointing elbows, wrists and ankles
that lends an unworldly attraction. Their sister sprite at the top of
the slender decorated shaft is mischievously aiming an arrow downwards.
These Sprite Columns express the gay, frolicsome mood of the waters.
Their feeling harmonizes more with the sea-weed and shell decorations of
the court itself and its falling-water motif than with the weightier
sculpture it contains. They create a pleasing ripple of merriment. Their
light and airy modeling has the beauty of unconscious and unforced
artistry. The columns stand just within the northern entrance of the
court, guarding a vista of the bay.