Ada Mae Sharpless


Ada May Sharpless was an American artist and sculptor.

Early life and education

She was born in Hilo, Hawaii, the daughter of missionaries Viola and Benjamin Harry Sharpless, and grew up in Santa Ana, California. She graduated from USC in 1922, studied art at the Otis Art Institute, and continued her studies in Paris for four years during the 1920s, with Antoine Bourdelle.

Career

During the 1930s she created sculptures for several area parks and associations. She was a member of the California Art Club and the Laguna Beach Art Association.

Works of Art

One of her most notable sculptures, , was commissioned in 1934 by the federal Works Project Administration and funded by the Public Works of Art Project. It was donated to the city in 1935 and installed at the edge of Echo Park Lake at Echo Park, Los Angeles, and became immediately popular at its installation. Despite its official title, it has become popularly known as "The Lady of the Lake." For this piece, Sharpless used the newly popular poured concrete material and technique commonly called "liquid stone." The sculpture is mounted on a four-sided pedestal faced with bas reliefs of the Hollywood Bowl, the Los Angeles harbor, the San Gabriel mountains, and the Los Angeles Central Library. After decades of deterioration it was restored and re-installed in 1999 by the City of Los Angeles. The sculpture is archived by Public Art in Public Places.
Sharpless also made a full-length statue of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo for the patio of the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California.