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The City Fettering Nature
About the Artwork
Alexander Blazys, a Lithuanian immigrant, became a leading sculptor in Cleveland during the 1920s, when he created The City Fettering Nature for the Cleveland Museum of Art’s grounds. In this composition, Utility and Beauty, two characteristics of the city, are shown as intertwined figures attempting to subdue Nature’s power. The brawny figure of Nature, still standing despite this attack, struggles to free himself from the restraints.
Provenance
the cast was sent to the foundry of Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, where it was cast in bronze by Giovanni Polizzoti, a teacher at the College, with the aid of two students; the bronze was returned and installed on the lawn north of the Museum, 12/14/1927.
Exhibition history
The May Show: 9th Annual Exhibition of Works by Cleveland Artists and Craftsmen. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 27-June 5, 1927).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Alexander Blazys (American, born Russian Empire [now Lithuania], 1894–1963)
- Date
- 1927
- Medium
- bronze
- Dimensions
- without base: 235.6 x 177.8 x 104.2 cm (92 3/4 x 70 x 41 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Department
- American Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Gift of Mrs. B. P. Bole, Leonard C. Hanna Jr., John L. Severance and F. F. Prentiss
- Accession no.
- 1927.211
More by Alexander Blazys in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00010672
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