| Artist: | George Stanley |
| Title: | Muse of Music, Dance, Drama |
| Date: | 1940 |
| District: | Third Supervisorial District |
| Location: | Hollywood Bowl |
| Department: | Parks and Recreation |
 |
|
This Art Deco-inspired monument Muse of Music, Dance, Drama serves as the gateway to the Hollywood Bowl. It was constructed between 1938 and 1940 as part of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and represents the largest of hundreds of WPA sculpture projects created in southern California.
The 22' h x 200' w monument is composed of a large fountain and multi-tiered sculptural base. The crowning feature of the fountain is the Muse of Music, a 15' h kneeling figure playing a harp. On either side of the fountain are two smaller 10' h figures set back in ziggurat-shaped niches; these figures represent the muses of dance and drama, respectively. The entire piece is built from concrete and covered with slabs of decorative granite. An extensive restoration of the monument and its environs occurred in 2006.
About the Artist: The late Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley is credited with numerous sculptural and architectural commissions. Stanley, the sculptor of the Sir Isaac Newton statue at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, was also a co-creator of the Oscar statuette of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Photo credit: Los Angeles Philharmonic Association