Named after Brooklyn-based financier and philanthropist Frank Bailey (1865-1953) and his wife Mary Louise Bailey, this elaborate sculptural waterwork is one of several which have occupied a central place in Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza.
Between 1865 and 1866, British-born architect Calvert Vaux (1824-1895) designed the oval plaza as a transitional element between the confluence of major streets and Prospect Park. He positioned a fountain at its center, which functioned by the early 1870s. The thrilling spectacle of numerous water jets illuminated at night by gas lamps attracted many viewers.
In the late 1920s, Bailey and his wife gave $125,000 for construction of a new fountain, whose designers, architect Edgerton Swarthout and sculptor Eugene Savage, were selected through a design competition. Work on the fountain began in 1929 and was completed in 1932. The central bronze sculptures include male and female figures atop the prow of a ship, representing Wisdom and Felicity, surrounded by Neptune, his attendant Triton, and a boy holding a cornucopia. The base is made of large stones imbedded in the foundation, and additional decorative elements with sea motifs adorn the pedestal.