Public Sculpture
Rush was one of the first to create outdoor public sculpture in the United States. His twin figures, Comedy and Tragedy (1808), were originally installed in niches on the facade of Philadelphia's Chestnut Street Theater. His Water Nymph and Bittern (1809), was created as a fountain sculpture for the Center Square Waterworks, designed by Benjamin Latrobe, which stood at what is now the site of Philadelphia City Hall. The Schuylkill Permanent Bridge (Market Street Bridge) in Philadelphia was adorned with his sculptures of Agriculture and Commerce (1812, whereabouts unknown), William Strickland's Philadelphia Custom House featured another figure named Commerce (1819, whereabouts unknown), and his sculptures of Wisdom and Justice (by 1824, Fairmount Park Commission) decorated a triumphal arch erected in front of Independence Hall for the 1824 visit of the Marquis de Lafayette. Rush carved a portrait bust of Lafayette (1824, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts) during the Frenchman's 8-day stay in Philadelphia.
His masterpiece may have been a life-sized statue of the Crucifixion, carved for St. Augustine's Church in 1810. It was destroyed in 1844, when the church was burned during Philadelphia's anti-Catholic riots.
Rush carved allegorical figures of The Schuylkill Chained (1825) and The Waterworks (1825) for the Fairmount Waterworks. These were installed atop pavilions along the Schuylkill River. Water Nymph and Bittern was moved to the Fairmount Waterworks at about the same time. A bronze casting of the wooden Water Nymph and Bittern statue was made in 1872.
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