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Arthur Fleischmann

Our archive of Arthur Fleischmann (1896-1990) contains materials related to his Lockheed Fountain, including sketches, photos, press cuttings, and souvenir brochures from the Festival of Britain.

Illustrated advert for Lockheed Hydraulic Brakes, with a painted reproduction of the 'Lockheed Fountain' - a mermaid reclining on a turtle, which is spraying water upwards. Fish are at her feet and in her arms, also spraying water.

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Sheet of cream paper with four pencil sketches of mermaids for a fountain by Arthur Fleishmann.

Black and white photo of an older male sculptor having a cup of tea with a young female model, with a sculpture of a mermaid behind them.

Black and white photo of an artist's studio, with a large mermaid sculpture at the centre and lots of smaller figurative sculptures and portrait busts around the room.

Black and white photo of an older man holding sculpting tools, stood behind a sculpture of a mermaid. The mermaid is reclining on a turtle, with two fish at her feet and another held close to her head.

Newspaper cutting with the heading 'Transatlantic' and a photo showing a man at work on a mermaid sculpture, while a female model poses alongside.

Black and white photo of a fountain-sculpture depicting a mermaid, turtle and fish spraying water. A group of formally dressed men wearing long coats and hats are stood behind the fountain.

About the artist

Arthur Fleischmann (1896-1990) was born in Pressburg, Austria-Hungary (now Bratislava, Slovakia). He trained as a doctor but only practiced for three years before turning to sculpture, studying at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

Due to the growing instability in Europe, Fleishmann left for South Africa in 1937, exhibiting here before travelling on to Indonesia. He spent two idyllic years in Bali, but was forced to flee after the island was invaded by Japanese forces. He escaped to Australia, where he lived for the next decade, becoming a citizen and a founding member of the Merioola Group.

Fleischmann moved back to London in 1948, and quickly became known for his pioneering work in the use of Perspex. He was also influenced by his Catholic faith, and is the only artist to have sculpted four different Popes in their lifetime.

One of Fleishmann’s most important works is Miranda, created for the Festival of Britain exhibition in 1951. This mermaid sculpture was commissioned for the festival in collaboration with Lockheed Hydraulic Brake Company, leading to it also being known as the Lockheed Fountain.

The sculpture showed Fleischmann’s vision of “a lady of the sea, an attractive maiden without the traditional tail… She lies balanced on the shell of a turtle in the centre of a 26ft diameter basin situated at the focal point of the main roadways of the gardens.”

Miranda was placed in the festival’s ‘Pleasure Gardens’. In a press release it was said that: “Over ten million people are expected to visit these gardens… and no doubt ‘Meet me at the Lockheed fountain’ will become a familiar phrase for visitors at the Festival Gardens.”

Press at the time explained the process of making the sculpture: “It took him 3 months to complete the model in clay. Two models posed for the statue, 20 year-old Joyce Taylor, a piano student… and an 18 year-old commercial artist who is keeping her name secret… The actual figure is cast in bronze by the ‘lost wax’ process at the foundry of John Galizia in Battersea.”

What’s in the collection?

Our archive of Arther Fleischmann contains materials solely related to his Lockheed Fountain.

His papers include preliminary sketches for the sculpture; photographs showing Fleischmann, the woman he used as his model and various stages of the making of the sculpture; press cuttings, and souvenir brochures from the Festival of Britain. Two maquettes for the sculpture are in Leeds Museums & Galleries’ sculpture collection.