The School District of Philadelphia
440 N. Broad Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19130
Press Contact: Vincent Thompson - (215) 400-4040
Relocation of The Great Doctor and The Great Mother
Philadelphia, PA (September 29, 2008) -- The City of Philadelphia’s Department of Public Property, Public Art Division, and The School District of Philadelphia announces the completed relocation of Waldemar Raemisch’s bronze sculptural groups from the Youth Study Center at 20th and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the High School of the Future at 4021 Parkside Avenue in Fairmount Park.
Due to the imminent demolition of the Youth Study Center, the City’s Public Art Division of the Department of Public Property has relocated The Great Doctor and The Great Mother to a new permanent location. In an effort to uphold the sculptures original theme, one of care and guidance of youth, the City and the School District of Philadelphia worked together to find an appropriate site. The High School of the Future in Fairmount Park was chosen as it provides a park-like setting, a relatively unadorned façade, and a thematic link between the subject of the artwork and the building’s function as a place of guidance and learning.
The sculptures, by the German artist, Waldemar Raemisch, were commissioned by the architects Carrol, Grisdale and Van Allen to embellish the modernist architecture of the Youth Study Center. They were cast in Rome and installed on the Parkway in 1955 in conjunction with the completion of the building. The artist, who died during the casting, created the sculptures to symbolize the “spirit of juveniles” and the monumental importance of providing care and guidance to children. This project paved the way for Philadelphia’s groundbreaking Percent for Art Ordinance, which was established in 1959.
“The relocation of these two fine works by Waldemar Raemisch to the School of the Future will benefit students who will have the opportunity to use this public art in their 21st Century learning environment and admirers of public art who will see The Great Doctor and The Great Mother in a park setting near this beautiful new school,” Mayor Michael Nutter said today.
School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Dr. Arlene C. Ackerman said, “I would like to thank the City of Philadelphia for selecting the School of the Future as the new home for these wonderful pieces of art. Exposure to the arts on a daily basis is an essential part of public education and lifelong learning. The School District of Philadelphia is committed to exposing our children to the arts because the arts not only enhance students’ understanding of the world around them, but it also broadens their perspective of traditional academics.”
The City of Philadelphia’s Public Art Program consists of the Percent for Art Program and the Conservation and Collection Management Program, supporting the commissioning of new works of public art and overseeing the preservation of the City’s collection of public art collection -- considered one of the largest and most remarkable collections in the country.