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The Butler Ice Fountain was designed to be "something of permanent beauty that would be unique to Buffalo State College and a work
of art for everyone to enjoy." It is the gift of the Butler Foundation and Kate Butler Wickham, who served as chair of the College
Council from 1959 to 1980. Ms. Wickham is the third generation of the Butler family to take a leading role in fostering the intellectual and
physical environment of the college.
The abstract sculpture by Norwegian artist Carl Nesjar rises 20 feet at its highest point, is 40 feet in length, and approximately 15 feet
wide, lifting nine steel arms above a shallow reflecting pool. Twenty five jets at the front of the fountain and two more at the rear
throw the vertical sprays of water. Eight nozzles on the arms of the sculpture create fan-shaped sprays. The fountain is located
in front of E. H. Butler Library, named for Mrs. Wickham's grandfather, Edward H. Butler.
The fountain was designed to be an all-weather fountain. Its true beauty though is achieved in the winter, when sprays of water
take on a myriad of forms and shapes over the nine steel arms. It most truly illuminates the winters of Buffalo. It can also
change dramatically from morning to afternoon, depending on the amount of ice that forms and the temperatures during the day.
Commissioned in 1981, the design work and construction of the fountain took two years to complete, culminating with the
dedication ceremony on October 27, 1983.
Carl Nesjar's works are known worldwide. Nesjar, an acclaimed painter, designer, photographer and sculptor, was born in Larvik,
Norway in 1920 and spent much of his youth in the United States. In collaboration with Pablo Picasso from 1957 to 1975, he created
monumental murals and sculptures in concrete. These works are located in Norway, Sweden, France and the United States. The Butler
Ice Fountain is his second in the United States. The first ice sculpture, a memorial to Sonja Henie, is at Lake Placid.
Dedication and background materials, artist drawings and photographs of the Butler Ice Fountain are housed in Archives.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge the photographs:
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This page last updated 5/23/06
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