Born in Seattle and raised there and in Japan, George Tsutakawa (1910-1997) was an internationally recognized painter and sculptor best known for his avant-garde fountain designs. Over the course of his career, he created more than 70 fountains for public places around the world. Tsutakawa studied sculpture at the University of Washington, and served in the US Army during World War II. He taught in the art and architecture departments at the University of Washington for 34 years, retiring in 1976.

In this image, Tsutakawa polishes one of the bronze gates he designed for the entrances to the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle. The gates are located at the Visitor's Center entrance, at 2300 Arboretum Drive East.

Caption information source: The Seattle Times, November 18, 1975, page 11
Caption information source: "Tsutakawa, George (1910-1997): Master of Fountains," by Deloris Tarzan Ament, HistoryLink.org Essay 5426
Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.