Thomas Shields Clark, “The Cider Press”, Bronze, Golden Gate Park
Thomas Shields Clark graduated from Princeton University in 1882. He was a pupil of the Art Students League, New York, and of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Later he entered the atelier of Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret, and, becoming interested in sculpture, he worked for a while under Henri Chapu. As a sculptor, he received a medal of honor in Madrid for his Cider Press.
This 1892 Bronze sculpture was originally exhibited at the Midwinter International Exposition in 1894. The Apple Cider Bronze bears some resemblance to Douglas Tilden’s Mechanics Monument located on Market street in that it bears tribute to the value of hard work. However, this purchase and contribution by DeYoung was apparently inspired by art rather than memorial, since the only cider industry of note in the San Francisco Bay Area is Martinelli’s (1868) located in Watsonville, down the peninsula.
This statue was originally a drinking fountain with a cup attached by a chain, and some say it ran with cider instead of water.