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Atropos Key

PUBLIC ART COLLECTION IDENTIFICATION SUMMARY
Click to enlarge image .pdf printout of this page	Number: 0015
	Artist: Stewart, Hannah H.
	Title: Atropos Key
	Date: 1972, Dedicated August 24, 1972
	Type: Sculpture
	Medium: Sculpture: Cast Bronze, Base: Concrete and black slate
	Dimensions: Sculpture: 129” x 79” x 11 1/8” Base: 25 ½” x 119” x 60”
	Foundry/Fabricator: x
	Location/Environment: Hermann Park, at top of hill of Miller Theatre, Outdoors
	Provenance: Given to the City of Houston by Patricia S. Woodward

Historical Background

Subject
Atropos Key refers to the Greek Goddess of Fate, Atropos, (the cutter of the thread of life). According to Greek mythology, Atropos, and her sisters Clotho (the spinner of the thread of destiny) and Lachesis (the measurer of the thread) were responsible for human destiny.

Physical Description
Atropos Key is a polished, tooled-surface, cast-bronze sculpture mounted on a concrete trapezoidal base faced with black slate. The artist's name is placed on one of the vertical legs (H. STEWART) . The edition number and title appear on the horizontal edge of the self base (1/3 ATROPOS KEY).

The bronze plaque located on the metal base plate of the sculpture reads as follows:

ATROPOS KEY/ SCULPTOR/ HANNAH STEWART/ DONOR/ PATRICIA S. WOODWARD/ GIVEN TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON/ AUGUST 24, 1972

Restoration / Conservation
Atropos Key was restored in January, 1998.