Wynken, Blynken and Nod at Washington Park
Wynken, Blynken and Nod is a public art installation located at Washington Park within Denver, Colorado.
Originally built in 1918 by sculptor Mabel Landrum Torrey as a fountain on the western edge of Washington Park. The resulting piece, Wynken, Blynken, and Nod Fountain, was dedicated in 1919.
Blynken is the child standing behind Wynken, wearing an evening gown, with Blynken’s plump arms wrapped around Wynken’s neck. Nod can be seen as the smallest of the 3 on the rear side of the their boat. The original installation as a fountain was relocated to its current location as a statue, adjacent to the Eugene Field House.
Mabel Rivers Landrum Torrey studied at Colorado State College of Education and worked as a schoolteacher in Sterling. After saving enough money, Mabel Rivers Landrum Torrey traveled to Chicago to study sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1912.
This award-winning sculpture was commissioned by the mayor of Denver, Robert W. Speer, in 1918. The work that emerged continues on as part of an intriguing piece of public art and Denver’s history. The sculptural work, Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, portrays a scene from an 1889 poem, Dutch Lullaby, by writer Eugene Field, who was also a resident of Denver.
I am 82 years old and grew up and lived in the same house in South Denver until I married in 1968. I graduated from South High School in 1959 which is across from Washington Park. I went on to attend Colorado State College/CSC and earned my BA and MA degrees. I used these degrees to attain my teaching certificate and profession in Colorado.
I remember as a little boy and on into adulthood seeing this (then fountain) for many years. I grew very fond of it and still am. I think moving it to it’s present location makes it look like it has been cast aside from the main part of the park.
My opinion is that it should have been restored in its original design and location.
I remember reading an article , with photo, probably in the Denver Post several years ago, about this fountain/statue being vandalized and having the foot severed from, I believe Blynkun. I would be interested in knowing if this damage has been repaired and when. I can’t find any mention of this on line. I hope you can answer this for me. I am going to have to take my wife and two sons over to Washington Park this summer in my 1959 Oldsmobile to see and photograph this beloved now statue again.