Diana and an Ephebe (1930)

These sculptures were modeled after Italian Prototypes. The two cast concrete figures stand approximately 5’ high.

High up on four-sided pillars, framed by trees at the Main/South Entrance, are these badly weather-damaged concrete statues representing the mythological Greek goddess of the hunt, Diana (right), and her chaste, athletic young male companion known as an ephebe (left). The loyal hounds placed at their feet lend stability and compositional weight.

As with so many of the objects in the Park, these are reproductions, in this case works of English manufacture modeled after Italian baroque prototypes. They came from Robert Allerton’s friends Mr. and Mrs. Charles Pike, who took them from their own estate at Lake Forest, Illinois, to present as a gift. From the time of the figures’ installation in 1930, Allerton always referred to them as “Charlie and Frances.”

From A Guide to Art at the University of Illinois: Urbana-Champaign, Robert Allerton Park, and Chicago by Muriel Scheinman. Copyright 1995 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Used with permission from the University of Illinois Press.