''Eve'' is an outdoor sculpture of the biblical

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

created by Robert William Davidson in 1931. It is currently located in a fountain at Ball Nurses' Sunken Garden and Convalescent Park on the campus of

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Indiana ( ) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the south and southeast, and the Wabash Riv ...

(IUPUI). The overall dimensions of this

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

are 5’ tall, 2’ long, and 1’ wide.

Description

''Eve'' is a sculpture of a nude female figure standing on a circular

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

base which measures 17" in diameter and 2" tall. The figure is standing with her proper left foot pointed forward and her proper right foot is perpendicular to the left, pointing right. Her arms are crossed behind her head and she is looking down and to her left. Her

hairstyle A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut, or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head but sometimes on the face or body. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although ...

is such that all of her forehead and both of her ears are visible. “Robert Davidson" is visible on the proper left side of the top of the base.

Information

The statue was nicknamed "Flo" for

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...

by the

Indiana University School of Nursing The Indiana University School of Nursing is an academic college of higher education connected to Indiana University with its main research and educational facilities on the Indiana University Indianapolis campus and at Indiana University Blooming ...

students. The graduating class often posed around the statue for a photo in the 1940s. In the 1950s and 1960s, it became a tradition to dress the sculpture in a nurse's pink training uniform at graduation time. ''Eve'' has also been decorated with women's undergarments, towels, and balloons over time.

Acquisition

''Eve'' was commissioned by the

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Alumni Nurses Association in 1931. They wanted a statue to put in the newly created Ball Gardens just north of the nurses' Ball Residence. It was cast by the Priessmann, Breuer, and Co. Foundry in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany.

Artist

Robert William Davidson was born in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Indiana in 1904. He was an apprentice to his father, Oscar Davidson, also an artist. He studied sculpture at the John Herron Art Institute (now the

Herron School of Art Herron School of Art and Design, officially IU Herron School of Art and Design, is a public art school at Indiana University–Indianapolis (IUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a professional art school and has been accredited by the National As ...

), the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

, the

School of American Sculpture School of American Sculpture was an art school founded in New York City by Solon Borglum following the World War I, in about 1918, that lasted only shortly after Borglum's death in 1922. During World War I, American sculptor Solon Borglum served ...

in New York City, and the Bavarian Fine Arts Academy in

, Germany. Davidson's wife, Maryetta, was an Indiana ceramics artist and they both graduated from the John Herron Art Institute in 1926. They moved to

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the ...

where Davidson taught art at

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,700 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

from 1934 to 1972. Davidson is a nationally known artist whose work is in the collections of the

Indianapolis Museum of Art The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located at Newfields, a campus that also houses Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, the Garden at Newfields and more. It is located at the corner of No ...

and the Smithsonian. He has won many awards for his works including the Art Association Prize at the Herron Art Institute in 1925, the Harry Johnson Prize from

Hoosier Salon The Hoosier Art Salon Annual Exhibition is an annual juried art exhibition that features the work of Indiana artists and provides them with an outlet to market their work. The Hoosier Salon Patron's Association, the nonprofit arts organization tha ...

in 1930, and two first prize wins at the

Indiana State Fair The Indiana State Fair is an annual state fair that spans 15 days in August in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. The Indiana State Fair debuted in 1852 at Military Park in Indianapolis and is the sixth oldest state fair in the U.S. It is the largest ...

in 1923 and 1924. He died in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

in 1982.

Location history

''Eve'' was first shown at the

1933 Chicago World's Fair A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Exposit ...

. It was then displayed at the Hoosier Salon in Chicago, and then in the John Herron School of Art. ''Eve'' was finally installed in the middle of a fountain at Ball Nurses' Sunken Garden and Convalescent Park by 1937. Over 60 years later, ''Eve'' was removed from the fountain and placed inside the University Library pending restoration by the Indianapolis Museum of Art's conservation staff. After conservation, ''Eve'' was housed in the HITS Building on the IUPUI campus with an accompanying interpretive sign stating, "Removed from the fountain in 1997 because of total ground instability. Temporarily placed here, in the Health Information and Translational Services Building, while awaiting rehabilitation of the Ball Nurse's Sunken Garden and Convalescent Park." In June 2016, ''Eve'' was returned the fountain as the centerpiece of the Ball Nurses' Sunken Garden after completing a restoration plan for the gardens prepared by the landscape architecture firm Rundell Ernstberger Associates.

Documentation

Museum Studies Museology (also called museum studies or museum science) is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and ed ...

course at IUPUI recently undertook the project of researching and reporting on the condition of 40 outdoor sculptures on the university campus. ''Eve'' was included in this movement. This documentation was influenced by the successful

Save Outdoor Sculpture! Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!) was a community-based effort to identify, document, and conserve outdoor sculpture in the United States. The program was initiated in 1989 and ended in 1999. History Save Outdoor Sculpture! was initiated by Heri ...

1989 campaign organized by Heritage Preservation: The National Institute of Conservation partnered with the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, specifically the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

. Throughout the 1990s, over 7,000 volunteers nationwide have cataloged and assessed the condition of over 30,000 publicly accessible statues, monuments, and sculptures installed as outdoor public art across the United States.

Gallery

File:Eve PermanentLocation.JPG, Permanent location of ''Eve'' in Ball Gardens

References

External links

Digital Collections of IUPUI University Library – EveIndianapolis Museum of Art Online Art Collection: Robert William Davidson
{{Adam and Eve Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis Public Art Collection Sculptures of Adam and Eve Outdoor sculptures in Indianapolis Bronze sculptures in Indiana 1931 sculptures Nude sculptures in Indiana Statues in Indianapolis Sculptures of women in Indiana