The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania

The Gardens & Exhibits

General Information
Plant Collection
Arboretum Features
Horticulture Center
History
Mission and Vision
Tree Adventure
Garden Railway

Garden Sculptures

Select a Sculpture

Untitled (After Black Forest)
Two Lines Variable
African Queen
American Bull
Saint Francis
Cotswold Sheep
Gemination Sequence
Bronze Bell
Heart Pod
Inside Out
After B.K.S. Iyengar
John and Lydia Morris
Mercury
Stanchion
Sugarman Sculptures
Three Tubes

Stanchion
Created by: Christopher Cairns (American, b. 1942)
Material: bronze, 1984

Gift of Madeleine K. Butcher, Barton H. Lippincolt and J. Randolph Updyke

In Ancient Greece, a standing female was sometimes used as an architectural support, in the place of a column. Sculptor Christopher Cairns evoked this classical tradition by titling his draped figure Stanchion which means a prop or support. Cairns chose to depict a woman emerging from the clay he used to fashion her. For this reason, some people interpret Stanchion as a symbol of metamorphosis.

Stanchion