Court of the Penguins

Outside the location of what was once Sears automotive center, the Court of the Penguins was dedicated to the Country Club Plaza on October 10, 1979. Following the flood of Brush Creek in September 1977, the Nichols Company had to repair and rebuild the Plaza. In his vision for creating an upscale shopping destination, Nichols introduced more artwork and architecture to the outdoor venue. At the same time, Court of the Penguins was constructed as part of an effort to create more public space. Designed by Kansas City artist Arthur Kraft, the three bronze penguins were cast posthumously and are the centerpiece of the brick courtyard, surrounded by two fountains and benches.

Court of the Penguins is a small brick courtyard that was constructed in 1979 in an effort to create more public space around the Country Club Plaza. This location was previously the site of the Sears automotive service center and farm store, located across the street to the South of the Sears department store. This Sears department store was their first location in a suburban shopping center, opening in November 1947. Sears closed the stores in January 1975, but after Brush Creek’s devastating flood in 1977, the Plaza had to repair and rebuild many of its businesses. At this time, the vision was to become an upscale shopping destination, so as grocery stores moved out, luxury shops moved in. 

In the effort to rebuild the Plaza, Miller Nichols looked for inspiration and guidance from the public spaces he admired in Europe. Along with adding luxury shops, Nichols continued to integrate artwork and architecture and created spaces to attract the interest and promote interaction amongst the Plaza’s visitors. One of these spaces was the Court of the Penguins. The brick courtyard was installed with benches and two fountains on either side of three dancing penguin statues, and lined with shrubbery to protect bystanders from the street. Both fountains feature three griffins placed back-to-back between two scalloped basins which flow into a square-shaped pool centered in a larger oval pool with a bubbling water feature on each end. The three, five-foot tall bronze penguins are posed in different positions and are the centerpiece of the courtyard. They were designed by Kansas City artist Arthur Kraft, however, the sculptures were cast posthumously, as Mr. Kraft passed away in 1977. 

Arthur Kraft (1921-1977) was an artist of fiction and created his artwork in a variety of mediums. Arthur’s first art instruction was held at the Nelson Gallery (now Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) and his first works were displayed at the Plaza Art Fair at age 13, including matchboxes decorated with pipe cleaners and sophisticated oil portraits. After high school, he studied briefly at Kansas City Art Institute before attending Yale University, as well as served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war his studies continued and went on to receive first place at the Audubon Artist Society’s annual exhibition for his painting titled ‘New York as Seen by a Casual Observer Through my Great Aunt Jennifer’s Ouija Board.’ A second big achievement announced Kraft as the winner of the Alice Kimball English Traveling Fellowship at Yale in which he spent months studying and painting in Europe, leading to a showcase of his works at Jacques Seligmann Gallery in New York in 1948. Arthur moved back to Kansas City in the mid-1950s with the rationale that, “one is likely to be more slowly devoured by American commercialism here than in New York.” He was recognized by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce as one of ten outstanding young men in 1954, alongside Robert Kennedy and Chuck Yeager, and was commissioned to make the trophy for this award the following year. Many of his other commissions consisted of mosaics and sculptures around Kansas City, as well as other locations around the country including similar penguin sculptures for a mall in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over the years, Arthur suffered from alcoholism, said to be triggered by trauma from an assault he experienced in 1959. He was admitted to the mental ward several times and wrote a book “Sounds of Fury'' (1971) based on his experiences and people he saw there, which was filled with sketches and descriptive writings. Arthur was later treated for cancer and died at the Veterans Hospital in Topeka, Kansas in September of 1977 at the age of 56. 

The Court of the Penguins was dedicated to the Plaza on October 10, 1979 and remains a delight today as children dance with and climb on the bronze penguins. One can also reminisce in the history of the surrounding architecture as the windows of the adjacent storefront were once the garage doors of the automotive service center. 

Paxton, Heather N.. Toast to Olde Tymes - Arthur Kraft, The Independent. Accessed December 13th 2021. https://kcindependent.com/yesterday-and-today-arthur-kraft/.

Arthur Kraft 1979 Country Club Plaza "Court of the Penguins" Fountain, The Wonderful World of Arthur Kraft. March 17th 2012. Accessed December 13th 2021. https://arthurkraft.wordpress.com/2012/03/17/arthur-kraft-1979-country-club-plaza-court-of-the-penguins-fountain/.

Court of the Penguins Fountain, City of Fountains. Accessed December 13th 2021. https://cityoffountains.org/21123-1/.

Davison, Dominique. The Joys of Public Space. Country Club Plaza Walking Guide. April 1st 2018. 10 - 11.

Kansas City, Missouri's Country Club Plaza, The Shopping Mall Museum. Accessed December 13th 2021. http://shoppingmallmuseum.blogspot.com/search/label/Kansas%20City%27s%20Country%20Club%20Plaza.