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CORNISH I NEW HAMPSHIRE I SPRING /SUMMER 2014

IN THIS ISSUE Sherman Monument Conserved I 1 A Golden Moment: Philadelphia’s I 4 SHERMAN MONUMENT CONSERVED Climate Change in the National Parks I 6 The Saint Gaudens Medal I 7 2014 Concerts, Exhibitions & Events I 8

DEAR FRIENDS, This issue brings you exciting news about efforts to preserve and en- hance two of Saint-Gaudens’ great monumental public sculptures: the Sherman in Grand Army Plaza at the southeast corner of Central Park, and Diana , at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. At the park preparations are underway for the opening of the season on Saturday May 24th. In addition to contemporary exhibitions in the Picture Gallery, a series of eleven Sunday afternoon concerts between Memorial and Labor Day, sculp - ture workshops and other traditional events, this year there will be two special offerings. On May 27, June 3 and 10, Completed Sherman Monument seen at night, 2014. there will be talks on climate change and its effects on the park. And, prior to the Henry J. Duffy, Curator, Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site concert on July 13, there will be a cere - At the southeast corner of Central Park in is the last great mony to award the Saint-Gaudens Medal equestrian statue by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Dedicated on Memorial Day to James Atkinson. (See inside) in 1903, the Sherman Monument depicts the famous Civil War general sitting astride a fiery horse, being led forward by an allegorical figure of As always, we welcome you to the park Victory. Saint-Gaudens was uncharacteristically pleased with the result, to enjoy the array of artistic and natural feeling that this was among his finest sculptures. treasures here. We also encourage you to see the Sherman and Diana , as well as Following the Civil War, General death mask and cast of the hands for other works around the country (and in Sherman was named General of the use in later sculptures. It was in the France, Great Britain, Ireland and Mexico) Army by President Ulysses Grant in same year, 1891, that the New York by the great sculptor. 1869. After leaving public life, he moved Chamber of Commerce commissioned to New York City, where he lived until the sculptor to create a monument. Sincerely, his death in 1891. Saint-Gaudens and Saint-Gaudens preferred to place the Byron Bell Charles Beaman were among those who Rick Kendall piece next to the Grant Mausoleum on President of the Superintendent were present right after the General’s Board of Trustees Saint-Gaudens NHS Riverside Drive, but the Grant family Saint-Gaudens Memorial A National Park for the Arts death, and Saint-Gaudens obtained a (“Sherman Monument Conserved...” cont. on page 2) friends OF SAINT-GAUDENS

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Thayer Tolles and Henry Duffy with General Sherman. Inspecting the gilding, summer 2013.

Dedication of Sherman Monument , Memorial Day, 1903. hesitated to have another monument In the park, the monument, seen against there. After discussion, the current site the trees, would have faded in view and was chosen, and work began. Saint- importance if allowed to weather and the Gaudens carried the piece with him from gilding both preserved the metal and 1892 until 1903. Work was completed in also anchored the piece on the street New York, Paris and Cornish, with the corner. With time, the gilding faded, and gilding occurring just before the final by the early twentieth century it was Sherman under wraps. The monument was sur - dedication. Exhibited in Paris and nearly gone. In 1989 New York City and rounded by a protective scaffold and tarpaulin Buffalo, New York, Sherman Monument the Central Park Conservancy mounted during the cleaning and gilding. was already much anticipated when it a campaign to regild the piece. While was installed in Central Park. protecting and conserving the bronze, Gaudens National Historic Site Curator the color was considered bright by Henry Duffy to join Thayer Tolles, Marica many, and was eventually toned. By Saint-Gaudens was F. Vilcek Curator of American Paintings 2013, the sculpture needed attention and Sculpture at The Metropolitan uncharacteristically pleased with again, and the Central Park Conservancy the result, feeling that this was Museum of Art (and Saint-Gaudens engaged Mark Rabinowitz, Executive Memorial Trustee); Mark Rabinowitz, among his finest sculptures. Vice President and Senior Conservator conservator; and members of the of Conservation Solutions and Michael Conservancy Chris Nolan, Vice President Kramer and the Gilder’s Studio to clean One of the features that was striking of Planning, Design and Construction, and gild the sculpture. about the monument was its gilding, and Matthew Reiley, Associate Director done because Saint-Gaudens was con - In late August of 2013 Marie Warsh, of Conservation and Preservation to meet cerned about public bronze sculpture Director of Preservation Planning at the in New York to assess the gilding and allowed to weather to a light green. Central Park Conservancy invited Saint- determine a proper tone for the piece. friends OF SAINT-GAUDENS

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Saint-Gaudens worked on the tone himself, desiring not a bright finish but a muted shade that would make the piece glow.

Toning samples were checked both in full sunlight and in shadow. Conservator Mark Rabinowitz stands next to two gilded study heads. The final toned sample Here sample boards are held next to the monument. is on the left and the untoned one on the right.

The process of determining the right group tried application of this tone in find the statue an ideal resting place. tone began much earlier with discus sions shadowed areas alone, but the effect The constant scratching of their feet, and of what was known about Saint-Gaudens was invisible to the eye at a distance. the acid of their droppings eat away at and gilding. Smaller reliefs and sculp - The final discovery was that an overall the thin gold of the surface. Many possible tures were assessed, as was research tonality actually heightens the detail of solutions were contemplated, and finally discovered during the regilding of the the sculpture, bringing out the tiny details small spikes were installed in strategic plaster Shaw Memorial now on loan of the coat, and textiles that are not seen places on the statue. Gilded like the from the park to the National Gallery of generally. The great size of the monu - surroundings, they are seen but not Art in Washington, DC. On site, in New ment, standing twenty-five feet high, strongly seen on the monument, and may York, last summer, the group re-viewed and the distance from which it is seen, help discourage the birds from landing. sample boards of different colors, and made the tonality key to a full enjoyment With care and attention, the renewed then experimented on full-sized casts of of the piece. It is also known that Saint- sculpture should last for many years the horse’s head. The process proved Gaudens worked on the tone himself, to beautify and ennoble the corner of interesting and not straight-forward, desiring not a bright finish but a muted the park. as too little tone washed out in bright shade that would make the piece glow. sunlight, and too much looked murky and muddy in shadows. The final color Finally, a word should be given to one of combined burnt sienna, burnt umber the prime reasons the gilding failed in the and lamp black in solution. Originally the first place. Pigeons, and a lot of them, (“ David d’Angers - Making the Modern Monument...” cont. on page 4) friends OF SAINT-GAUDENS

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“A GOLDEN MOMENT: PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART’S DIANA ALSO RECEIVES TREATMENT” Thayer Tolles, Marica F. Vilcek Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In a serendipitous turn of events, 2013 also saw the Philadelphia Museum of Art embark on a major conservation effort to return Diana (1892-93) to its former gilded splen - dor. The thirteen-foot weathervane sculpture was originally on top of the main tower of the second from 1893 to 1925, when it was removed for the building’s razing. During those years, the resplendent gilded surface applied to the riveted sheet copper form had worn away due to constant exposure to the elements. For the eight decades since it was installed in 1932 in the museum’s Great Stair Hall (left), visitors have encountered the iconic Diana with a dark green corroded surface, its appearance entirely unlike what Saint- Gaudens had originally intended. Although the sculpture was cleaned and repaired by Roman Bronze Works foundry in New York prior to its transport to Philadelphia, it was not regilded. Thanks to a grant from the Bank of America Art Conservation Project, the conservation and regilding of Diana has Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Diana (1892-93). Sheet copper. h. 14 ft. 6 in. Philadelphia Museum of Art, been undertaken by a team of in-house Gift of the New York Life Insurance Company, 1932 (1932-30-1). Photograph by Graydon Wood. conservators at the Philadelphia friends OF SAINT-GAUDENS

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Museum of Art led by Andrew Lins, original gold leaf in order to use the Chair of Conservation, in collaboration same in this regilding campaign. Using with Kathleen Foster, the museum’s the assembled information, the team Robert L. McNeil, Jr., Curator of then removed the familiar dark green American Art. In addition to examining corrosion, accumulated grime, remnants gilded surfaces of other works by of earlier primer, and old retouching Saint-Gaudens, notably those at the that had masked repairs. With the clean Metropolitan Museum of Art, the team metal exposed, they treated surface corresponded closely with colleagues deformations and structural weaknesses. working on the Sherman restoration, comparing treatment plans and art his - The sculpture’s transformation torical and scientific research. Also is remarkable, the result informing the project was the loan of a landmark example of a highly the Saint-Gaudens National Historic informed collaboration between Site’s Diana statuette on a tripod base, art historians, conservators, highlighted in the installation “Gilding Diana” near the large-scale sculpture. and scientists. The museum also relied on digital media to inform the public with an exemplary Next they coated the sculpture with landing page about the project on its a yellow paint containing a corrosion website ( http://www.philamuseum.org/ inhibitor, followed by a layer of size. conservation/21.html ). It features a slide When the size dried to just the right show about Diana’s history as well as degree of tackiness, they meticulously links to videos with Lins and conservator applied 180 square feet of gold leaf to Adam Jenkins explaining the step-by-step Conservators Andrew Lins, Alisa Vignalo, and the statue (right). Diana’s surface, process of the treatment. Adam Jenkins apply gold leaf to Diana’s head and arm, November 2013. now radiantly bright, has not yet been Photograph by Kathleen Foster. toned pending further discussion with Diana’s conservation has in-house and outside experts about the involved a multi-phase approach conducted extensive physical and desired final appearance. Even in its including an extensive scientific investigations to determine not-quite-complete state, the sculpture’s cleaning, x-ray, ultasonic and the course of treatment, even peering transformation is remarkable, the result borescope testing, and a inside the sculpture down through the a landmark example of a highly informed comprehensive regilding and top of her head and up through the collaboration between art historians, preservation treatment. ball pedestal using a borescope. X-ray conservators, and scientists that, in imaging and ultrasonic thickness testing conjunction with the Sherman project, were also performed to document will inform any future treatments of Diana’s conservation, which began in the construction technique and the gilded sculpture by Saint-Gaudens and summer 2013 and is still underway, supporting armature. Tiny samples of other artists of his time. has involved a multi-phase approach. existing gilding were analyzed using Following the construction of scaffolding a scanning electron microscope (SEM) around the sculpture in situ, conservators to determine the carat weight of the friends OF SAINT-GAUDENS

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also traditionally served as climatic pes - Saint-Gaudens NHS is on the front ticides, freezing out certain pests that lines for understanding what are not cold tolerant. With milder win - impacts climate change may have ters, many of those species are march - on cultural resources such as ing north—particularly problematic is landscapes and historic structures. the hemlock woolly adelgid, an insect that could decimate the park’s hedges. The adelgid has now been found in Saint-Gaudens NHS is on the front lines New Hampshire; with milder winters, it for understanding what impacts climate seems only a matter of time before they change may have on cultural resources find their way to the park. like cultural landscapes and historic structures. As we have looked into the CLIMATE CHANGE potential impacts of climate change on IN THE park resources, we have discovered NATIONAL PARKS that many of the impacts from climate change that we could expect at the The National Park Service is doing park are already being seen in our a great deal to identify the impacts resources, though further study will be of climate change on park resources necessary to confirm that climate and plan for a future that could be change is indeed the smoking gun for very different from the present we such impacts. are currently experiencing. The Ravine Dam should only have one outlet, but Perhaps the most obvious potential now has two due to a breach during flooding. As national parks are static boundaries impacts of climate change on the park on a map, they are especially suscepti - are changes to our cultural landscape. In addition to impacts to our cultural ble to climate change impacts—we The park has a cultural landscape landscape, climate change may have can’t move the sequoia trees of of outstanding integrity, consisting of significant impacts on park structures. Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, gardens, hedges, and trees. Climate Whereas winter snows used to fall in nor can we move the park boundaries change has been moving the bloom November or December and stay on to follow pikas to higher, cooler ground. schedule of New England gardens earlier the ground until the spring melt, the We can’t follow Glacier National Park’s and earlier in the spring; historically, recent trend has been for snow to fall glaciers up into the cooler climes of many New England towns would have and then melt and then fall again and Canada, nor can we lift the low ground “Lilac Festivals” which coincided with melt with this cycle occurring several that will be inundated by sea level rise Memorial Day weekend. Today, there is times through- out the winter season. in the Everglades. Because parks stand no guarantee that lilacs will still be in This increase in the frequency of to be greatly impacted by climate flower by Memorial Day. Bloom schedules freeze/thaw cycles has the potential to change, the National Park Service is are marching earlier and earlier in the damage historic masonry at an acceler - taking our r ole in adaptation and mitiga - year; 2012 and 2013 were very early ated rate and can also damage outdoor tion of climate change very seriously. years, though it looks like 2013 will be monuments. We may see more damage Though we have no glaciers and will a later (or more normal) year on the to brick buildings and pathways as a not be impacted by rising sea levels, bloom calendar. Heavy winters have result. Changes in wind patterns may friends OF SAINT-GAUDENS

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SAINT-GAUDENS MEDAL TO BE AWARDED TO JAMES B. ATKINSON lead to more wind-driven rains that can find their way into old masonry joints The Saint-Gaudens Medal is intended to honor individuals and/or institutions who, through their talents and beneficence, have made leading to interior water damage of brick a distinguished contribution to the arts in America in the high tradition structures. Additionally, there is a greater of Augustus Saint-Gaudens. likelihood of extreme weather events which may damage structures; such an The Medal a colleague and collaborator with park event happened in July of 2013 when itself was staff in his capacity as president of the a micro burst thunderstorm dropped designed by Cornish Historical Society. He has been more than 2 inches of rain on the park in artist, sculptor a prodigious col lector of Cornish Colony a matter of hours, leading to the and former art and historical material a nd has made breaching of the historic Blow-Me-Up Trustee Robert the park beneficiary of a significant Dam in the park. W. White, portion of his collection of art, including If there is a positive aspect to the impacts grandson of etchings by Stephen Parrish, significantly that we are expecting to see at the park, Saint-Gaudens’ expanding its Cornish Colony collection. it is that they are directly relatable to sometime He and Ms. Holm will also be remem - impacts that our visitors may experience collaborator, bered by many for their portrayals of at their own homes. Changing environ - . Mr. and Mrs. Saint-Gaudens that appear ments for sequoia trees, melting glaciers, in re-enactment scenes in the PBS film James B. Atkinson. The Medal and rising sea levels seem very abstract Augustus Saint-Gaudens: Master of has only been to our everyday lives; however, nearly American Sculpture as well as in the awarded eight times (six times in its all of us live in a building and many of interpretive film about Saint-Gaudens present form). The last time was in 2005 , us have yards, gardens, or green space shown at the park. when it was given to Earl A. Powell, that we identify with. The impacts we Director of the National Gallery of Art in All are invited for presentation of the expect to see at Saint-Gaudens are the Washington, DC which restored the Medal to Mr. Atkinson on Sunday, same impacts that you can expect to plaster Shaw Memorial formerly at the July 13 at 2:0 0 pm at the Little Studio, see in your own homes and yards. park, and exhibits it on long-term loan. followed by the concert, Occasional Music Connecting our plight to millions of people for Early Winds and Plucked Strings. in the same situation can help raise James Atkinson is a historian and scholar, awareness to the impacts that climate collector and donor, a Friend, and a change may cause and perhaps mobilize some-time portrayer of the great Saint- an appropriate response. Gaudens himself, along with his wife Gretchen Holm as Gussie. His talents C L I M A T E C H A N G E and generosity have been enor mously beneficial to the park – its special proj - SPEAKER SERIES AT THE PARK ects and its collections – and to public Tuesday MAY 27 | Tuesday JUNE 3 | Tuesday JUNE 10 knowledge about Saint-Gaudens and In May and June, the park will be the Cornish Colony. Mr. Atkinson is hosting a speaker series on climate author (with the late Virginia Colby) of change. Experts from a variety the outstanding book “Footprints of the of different organizations will be Past,” a definitive encyclopedia of The Saint-Gaudens Medal designed by Trustee speaking on the subject at the park. Robert W. White. c. 1992. Cornish Colony artists. He has been friends OF SAINT-GAUDENS

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2 0 1 4 S U M M E R C O N C E R T S Become a friend Concerts are on Sundays @ 2pm. For details on concerts and exhibits visit www.sgnhs.org OF SAINT-GAUDENS JUNE 22 Marching from Broadway to L.A., Family Picnic Hamper Day Pre-concert activities 11:00 – 1:30 pm All members receive a twice-yearly newsletter and announcements of exhibits, JUNE 29 Classically Modern—Basque Dances to Beatles, Larry Nowlan Memorial Concert & lectures, concerts other programs. JULY 6 Masterworks by Brahms, Bernstein, Arnold, Debussy, Littleton Coin Company Concert Individual $ 50 JULY 13 Occasional Music for Early Winds and Plucked Strings Family $ 75 JULY 20 Grade “A” Fancy—Sweet A Cappella Jazz, Robert Meyers Memorial Concert JULY 27 Three Tenors—Popular Arias and Canzone Napolitana , Kendall at Hanover Concert Supporter $ 100 AUGUST 3 Between Worlds, Native American Inspirations Sponsor $ 25 AUGUST 10 European Masters for Eight Hands, Bea Richardson and Chuck Bradway Concert Bronze Patron $ 500 AUGUST 17 Pictures at an Exhibition, 9th Annual Rosamond Edmondson Memorial Concert

Gilded Benefactor $ 1,000 AUGUST 24 An Afternoon in Paris and Vienna, Dedicated to Judy Platt

AUGUST 31 Celebrating the Great American Song Book I would like a FREE annual park pass to the Saint-Gaudens Site. ($25 value. 2014 EXHIBITIONS IN THE PICTURE GALLERY This part of your membership fee is not tax deductible.) MAY 24 - JULY 6 JULY 12 - AUGUST 31 SEPT 6 - OCT 26 CHECK VIS A MASTERCARD Elaine Bradford: Jane Marsching: Test Site Heather Dewey-Hagborg: Ceremonial Concealment 2013 Saint-Gaudens Fellow Stranger Visions CAR D # Reception Saturday, May 24 Reception Saturday, July 12 Opening Saturday, September 6 4:30 – 6:00 pm 4:0 0pm 4:30 – 6:00 pm EXP DATE Artist’s Talk at 5 pm Artist’s Talk at 4:15 pm Artist’s Talk at 5 pm SIGNATURE 2014 EVENTS AND WORKSHOPS NAME TUESDAYS, MAY 27, JUNE 3, & 10 — CLIMATE CHANGE SPEAKER SERIES — 6:0 0pm ADDRESS SATURDAYS, MAY – OCTOBER — SCULPTURE WORKSHOPS The sculptor-in-residence offers a range of sculpture classes most Saturday afternoons throughout the summer. For detailed information go to www.nps.gov/saga SEPTEMBER 13 — STAR PARTY — 8:00 – 10:00 pm (rain/cloud date 9/14) PHONE SEPTEMBER 27— SCULPTURAL VISIONS I do not wish to join at this time 11:0 0am – 4:30 pm (rain/cloud date 9/14) Free admission all day. but would like to make a contribution.

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