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Rebekah At The Well

About the Sculpture

For nearly 70 years, a cast concrete sculpture depicting a young woman holding a water jug graced the center of the pool at the base of the cascading waterfall in Sunken Gardens. JC Seacrest, founder and publisher of the Lincoln Journal newspaper, donated the sculpture in 1936. The artwork was one of four sculptures created by Ellis Burman through the federal works program and placed in Lincoln's parks.

Burman's “Rebecca at the Well” was retired from display in 2004 due to significant deterioration. This new bronze sculpture created for Sunken Gardens by Nebraska artist David Young was installed in 2005. Young's Rebekah, while a recreation of the original sculpture, is not a direct copy of the original.

"I wanted to portray Rebekah from the Bible as an active person lifting up the jug rather than her holding it at her side like the original sculpture," said Young, differentiating his art from the 70-year-old sculpture of the same name that was decommissioned last year.

black and white image of the sculpture, Rebecca at the well at the bottom of the stairs in Sunken Gardens with the text

Image courtesy of The L.L. Cook Co. Milwaukee

A gathering of people at Sunken Gardens, and in the bottom right corner stands the original Rebekah at the Well sculpture in the fountain.

black and white image of Rebekah at the Well in her fountain

Image credit: Journal Star file photo

A full body shot of the bronze sculpture of Rebekah at the Well, featuring the young woman pouring the water into the water and rocks below her pedestal

moving around the sculpture Rebecca at the Well, to see both sides of her

The sculptor David Young standing behind his sculpture of Rebekah at the Well, testing the water flow

Image credit: Journal Star file photo of David Young and his version of Rebekah at the Well

About the Sculptor Ellis Luis Burman & David Young

Ellis Luis Burman

Born in 1902 in Toledo, Ohio, Ellis Luis Burman studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, but moved to Lincoln, NE with his wife around the 1930s. He worked predominately as a commercial artist at the beginning of his career. His first major sculptural project was a commission from the Lincoln Woman’s Club to honor the pioneer women who helped settle the west. During the Great Depression, Burman found work with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) or the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) to help beautify the city of Lincoln. During this time, he created several notable monuments. One being a memorial to the veterans of the state, known as “War and Victory”. His most well-known work was also created at this time, titled “The Smoke Signal” and was dedicated to all Nebraska Native Americans.

Though his notable marks on the city of Lincoln were his monuments, he also helped create costumes for Lincoln’s holiday Storyland parade in 1935. This project potentially led him to his final career in Hollywood, where he became a movie prop master and created masks and other costumes.

David Young

David got his degree in sculpture from the University of Iowa. He then moved to Grand Island, where he taught at senior high for 33 years in the same art room. David enjoys working in the clay to create his one of a kind sculptures that end up in bronze. He's done over 35 and one of his most visited is at Wild Bill Hickok's grave in Deadwood, S.D.