The Water Nymph 1925

Summary

Location: Queen Victoria Gardens A bronze sculpture of a young woman, arms raised stroking her hair, kneeling on a round base that is covered in small waves. The sculpture rests atop a sandstone pedestal that sits on a concrete and rock plinth in the middle of the lake. The pedestal carries a bronze title plaque. In 1925, Melbourne City Council’s Parks & Gardens Committee allocated funds towards purchasing statues for its public gardens. This was an attempt to appease a dissatisfied and vocal public, which had criticised council for the poor state of the pieces located in Fitzroy Gardens. Paul Montford’s Water Nymph is one of the works purchased. It is a bronze statue of a young woman, with raised arms stroking her hair. She kneels on a round base, which is set in an ornamental lake. This is a classic image of the period. The nymph is linked to age-old representations of the mermaid and the siren, which symbolise female sexuality. It is perhaps of no surprise to find a sculpture of a nymph at a time when the rise of the ‘flapper’ signalled a loosening of sexual mores. Water Nymph was unveiled in September 1925.