C O R N I S H I N E W H A M P S H I R E I S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 1 4

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DEAR FR I ENDS ,

This issue brings you exciting newsabout efforts to preserve and en-hance two of Saint-Gaudens’ greatmonumental public sculptures: theSherman in Grand Army Plaza at the southeast corner of Central Park,and Diana, at the PhiladelphiaMuseum of Art.

At the park preparations are underway for the opening of the season on SaturdayMay 24th. In addition to contemporaryexhibitions in the Picture Gallery, a seriesof eleven Sunday afternoon concertsbetween Memorial and Labor Day, sculp-ture workshops and other traditionalevents, this year there will be two specialofferings. On May 27, June 3 and 10,there will be talks on climate change andits effects on the park. And, prior to theconcert on July 13, there will be a cere-mony to award the Saint-Gaudens Medalto James Atkinson. (See inside)

As always, we welcome you to the parkto enjoy the array of artistic and naturaltreasures here. We also encourage you to see the Sherman and Diana, as well asother works around the country (and inFrance, Great Britain, Ireland and Mexico)by the great sculptor.

Sincerely,

I N TH I S I S SUE

Sherman Monument Conserved I 1

A Golden Moment: Philadelphia’s Diana I 4

Climate Change in the National Parks I 6

The Saint Gaudens Medal I 7

2014 Concerts, Exhibitions & Events I 8

Byron BellPresident of the Board of TrusteesSaint-Gaudens Memorial

Rick KendallSuperintendentSaint-Gaudens NHSA National Park for the Arts

Following the Civil War, GeneralSherman was named General of theArmy by President Ulysses Grant in1869. After leaving public life, he movedto New York City, where he lived untilhis death in 1891. Saint-Gaudens andCharles Beaman were among those whowere present right after the General’sdeath, and Saint-Gaudens obtained a

death mask and cast of the hands foruse in later sculptures. It was in thesame year, 1891, that the New YorkChamber of Commerce commissionedthe sculptor to create a monument.

Saint-Gaudens preferred to place thepiece next to the Grant Mausoleum onRiverside Drive, but the Grant family

(“Sherman Monument Conserved...” cont. on page 2)

Completed Sherman Monument seen at night, 2014.

S H E R M A N M O N U M E N T C O N S E R V E D

Henry J. Duffy, Curator, Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site

At the southeast corner of Central Park in New York City is the last greatequestrian statue by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Dedicated on Memorial Dayin 1903, the Sherman Monument depicts the famous Civil War general sitting astride a fiery horse, being led forward by an allegorical figure ofVictory. Saint-Gaudens was uncharacteristically pleased with the result,feeling that this was among his finest sculptures.

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hesitated to have another monumentthere. After discussion, the current sitewas chosen, and work began. Saint-Gaudens carried the piece with him from1892 until 1903. Work was completed inNew York, Paris and Cornish, with thegilding occurring just before the finaldedication. Exhibited in Paris andBuffalo, New York, Sherman Monumentwas already much anticipated when itwas installed in Central Park.

One of the features that was strikingabout the monument was its gilding,done because Saint-Gaudens was con-cerned about public bronze sculptureallowed to weather to a light green.

In the park, the monument, seen againstthe trees, would have faded in view andimportance if allowed to weather and thegilding both preserved the metal andalso anchored the piece on the streetcorner. With time, the gilding faded, andby the early twentieth century it wasnearly gone. In 1989 New York City andthe Central Park Conservancy mounteda campaign to regild the piece. Whileprotecting and conserving the bronze,the color was considered bright bymany, and was eventually toned. By2013, the sculpture needed attentionagain, and the Central Park Conservancyengaged Mark Rabinowitz, ExecutiveVice President and Senior Conservatorof Conservation Solutions and MichaelKramer and the Gilder’s Studio to cleanand gild the sculpture.

In late August of 2013 Marie Warsh,Director of Preservation Planning at theCentral Park Conservancy invited Saint-

Gaudens National Historic Site CuratorHenry Duffy to join Thayer Tolles, MaricaF. Vilcek Curator of American Paintingsand Sculpture at The MetropolitanMuseum of Art (and Saint-GaudensMemorial Trustee); Mark Rabinowitz,conservator; and members of theConservancy Chris Nolan, Vice Presidentof Planning, Design and Construction,and Matthew Reiley, Associate Directorof Conservation and Preservation to meetin New York to assess the gilding anddetermine a proper tone for the piece.

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

Sherman under wraps. The monument was sur-rounded by a protective scaffold and tarpaulinduring the cleaning and gilding.

Saint-Gaudens was uncharacteristically pleased with the result, feeling that this wasamong his finest sculptures.

Dedication of Sherman Monument, Memorial Day, 1903.

(“David d’Angers - Making the Modern Monument...” cont. on page 4)

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The process of determining the righttone began much earlier with discussionsof what was known about Saint-Gaudensand gilding. Smaller reliefs and sculp-tures were assessed, as was researchdiscovered during the regilding of theplaster Shaw Memorial now on loanfrom the park to the National Gallery ofArt in Washington, DC. On site, in NewYork, last summer, the group re-viewedsample boards of different colors, andthen experimented on full-sized casts ofthe horse’s head. The process provedinteresting and not straight-forward, as too little tone washed out in bright sunlight, and too much looked murkyand muddy in shadows. The final colorcombined burnt sienna, burnt umberand lamp black in solution. Originally the

group tried application of this tone inshadowed areas alone, but the effectwas invisible to the eye at a distance.The final discovery was that an overalltonality actually heightens the detail ofthe sculpture, bringing out the tiny detailsof the coat, and textiles that are not seengenerally. The great size of the monu-ment, standing twenty-five feet high,and the distance from which it is seen,made the tonality key to a full enjoymentof the piece. It is also known that Saint-Gaudens worked on the tone himself,desiring not a bright finish but a mutedshade that would make the piece glow.

Finally, a word should be given to one ofthe prime reasons the gilding failed in thefirst place. Pigeons, and a lot of them,

find the statue an ideal resting place.The constant scratching of their feet, andthe acid of their droppings eat away atthe thin gold of the surface. Many possiblesolutions were contemplated, and finallysmall spikes were installed in strategicplaces on the statue. Gilded like the surroundings, they are seen but notstrongly seen on the monument, and mayhelp discourage the birds from landing.

With care and attention, the renewedsculpture should last for many years to beautify and ennoble the corner ofthe park.

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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.Here sample boards are held next to the monument.

Conservator Mark Rabinowitz stands next to two gilded study heads. The final toned sampleis on the left and the untoned one on the right.

“A GOLDEN MOMENT: PH ILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART ’SDIANA ALSO RECEIVES TREATMENT”Thayer Tolles, Marica F. VilcekCurator of American Paintings and Sculpture, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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In a serendipitous turn of events,2013 also saw the PhiladelphiaMuseum of Art embark on a majorconservation effort to return Diana(1892-93) to its former gilded splen-dor. The thirteen-foot weathervanesculpture was originally on top ofthe main tower of the secondMadison Square Garden from 1893to 1925, when it was removed forthe building’s razing.

During those years, the resplendentgilded surface applied to the rivetedsheet copper form had worn away dueto constant exposure to the elements.For the eight decades since it wasinstalled in 1932 in the museum’sGreat Stair Hall (left), visitors haveencountered the iconic Diana with a dark green corroded surface, itsappearance entirely unlike what Saint-Gaudens had originally intended.Although the sculpture was cleanedand repaired by Roman Bronze Works foundry in New York prior toits transport to Philadelphia, it wasnot regilded.

Thanks to a grant from the Bank ofAmerica Art Conservation Project, theconservation and regilding of Diana hasbeen undertaken by a team of in-houseconservators at the Philadelphia

Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Diana (1892-93). Sheet copper. h. 14 ft. 6 in. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gift of the New York Life Insurance Company, 1932 (1932-30-1). Photograph by Graydon Wood.

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Museum of Art led by Andrew Lins,Chair of Conservation, in collaborationwith Kathleen Foster, the museum’sRobert L. McNeil, Jr., Curator ofAmerican Art. In addition to examininggilded surfaces of other works by Saint-Gaudens, notably those at theMetropolitan Museum of Art, the teamcorresponded closely with colleaguesworking on the Sherman restoration,comparing treatment plans and art his-torical and scientific research. Alsoinforming the project was the loan ofthe Saint-Gaudens National HistoricSite’s Diana statuette on a tripod base,highlighted in the installation “GildingDiana” near the large-scale sculpture.The museum also relied on digital mediato inform the public with an exemplarylanding page about the project on itswebsite (http://www.philamuseum.org/conservation/21.html). It features a slideshow about Diana’s history as well aslinks to videos with Lins and conservatorAdam Jenkins explaining the step-by-stepprocess of the treatment.

Diana’s conservation, which began insummer 2013 and is still underway, has involved a multi-phase approach.Following the construction of scaffoldingaround the sculpture in situ, conservators

conducted extensive physical and scientific investigations to determine the course of treatment, even peeringinside the sculpture down through thetop of her head and up through the ball pedestal using a borescope. X-rayimaging and ultrasonic thickness testingwere also performed to document the construction technique and the supporting armature. Tiny samples of existing gilding were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM)to determine the carat weight of the

original gold leaf in order to use thesame in this regilding campaign. Usingthe assembled information, the teamthen removed the familiar dark greencorrosion, accumulated grime, remnantsof earlier primer, and old retouchingthat had masked repairs. With the cleanmetal exposed, they treated surfacedeformations and structural weaknesses.

Next they coated the sculpture with a yellow paint containing a corrosioninhibitor, followed by a layer of size.When the size dried to just the rightdegree of tackiness, they meticulouslyapplied 180 square feet of gold leaf tothe statue (right). Diana’s surface, now radiantly bright, has not yet beentoned pending further discussion within-house and outside experts about thedesired final appearance. Even in itsnot-quite-complete state, the sculpture’stransformation is remarkable, the resulta landmark example of a highly informedcollaboration between art historians,conservators, and scientists that, inconjunction with the Sherman project,will inform any future treatments of gilded sculpture by Saint-Gaudens andother artists of his time.

Conservators Andrew Lins, Alisa Vignalo, andAdam Jenkins apply gold leaf to Diana’s head and arm, November 2013. Photograph by Kathleen Foster.

Diana’s conservation has involved a multi-phase approach

including an extensive cleaning, x-ray, ultasonic andborescope testing, and a

comprehensive regilding andpreservation treatment.

The sculpture’s transformation is remarkable, the result

a landmark example of a highlyinformed collaboration between art historians, conservators,

and scientists.

C L I M A T E C H A N G E I N T H E N A T I O N A L P A R K SThe National Park Service is doing a great deal to identify the impacts of climate change on park resourcesand plan for a future that could be very different from the present we are currently experiencing.

As national parks are static boundarieson a map, they are especially suscepti-ble to climate change impacts—wecan’t move the sequoia trees ofYosemite and Sequoia National Parks,nor can we move the park boundariesto follow pikas to higher, cooler ground.We can’t follow Glacier National Park’sglaciers up into the cooler climes ofCanada, nor can we lift the low groundthat will be inundated by sea level risein the Everglades. Because parks standto be greatly impacted by climatechange, the National Park Service istaking our role in adaptation and mitiga-tion of climate change very seriously.

Though we have no glaciers and willnot be impacted by rising sea levels,

Saint-Gaudens NHS is on the front linesfor understanding what impacts climatechange may have on cultural resourceslike cultural landscapes and historicstructures. As we have looked into thepotential impacts of climate change onpark resources, we have discoveredthat many of the impacts from climatechange that we could expect at thepark are already being seen in ourresources, though further study will benecessary to confirm that climatechange is indeed the smoking gun forsuch impacts.

Perhaps the most obvious potentialimpacts of climate change on the parkare changes to our cultural landscape.The park has a cultural landscape of outstanding integrity, consisting of gardens, hedges, and trees. Climatechange has been moving the bloomschedule of New England gardens earlierand earlier in the spring; historically,many New England towns would have“Lilac Festivals” which coincided withMemorial Day weekend. Today, there isno guarantee that lilacs will still be inflower by Memorial Day. Bloom schedulesare marching earlier and earlier in theyear; 2012 and 2013 were very earlyyears, though it looks like 2013 will bea later (or more normal) year on thebloom calendar. Heavy winters have

also traditionally served as climatic pes-ticides, freezing out certain pests thatare not cold tolerant. With milder win-ters, many of those species are march-ing north—particularly problematic isthe hemlock woolly adelgid, an insectthat could decimate the park’s hedges.The adelgid has now been found inNew Hampshire; with milder winters, itseems only a matter of time before theyfind their way to the park.

In addition to impacts to our culturallandscape, climate change may havesignificant impacts on park structures.Whereas winter snows used to fall inNovember or December and stay onthe ground until the spring melt, therecent trend has been for snow to falland then melt and then fall again andmelt with this cycle occurring severaltimes through- out the winter season.This increase in the frequency offreeze/thaw cycles has the potential todamage historic masonry at an acceler-ated rate and can also damage outdoormonuments. We may see more damageto brick buildings and pathways as aresult. Changes in wind patterns may

Saint-Gaudens NHS is on the frontlines for understanding what

impacts climate change may haveon cultural resources such as

landscapes and historic structures.

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The Ravine Dam should only have one outlet, butnow has two due to a breach during flooding.

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lead to more wind-driven rains that canfind their way into old masonry jointsleading to interior water damage of brickstructures. Additionally, there is a greaterlikelihood of extreme weather eventswhich may damage structures; such anevent happened in July of 2013 when a microburst thunderstorm droppedmore than 2 inches of rain on the park ina matter of hours, leading to thebreaching of the historic Blow-Me-UpDam in the park.

If there is a positive aspect to the impactsthat we are expecting to see at the park,it is that they are directly relatable toimpacts that our visitors may experienceat their own homes. Changing environ-ments for sequoia trees, melting glaciers,and rising sea levels seem very abstractto our everyday lives; however, nearly all of us live in a building and many of us have yards, gardens, or green spacethat we identify with. The impacts weexpect to see at Saint-Gaudens are thesame impacts that you can expect tosee in your own homes and yards.Connecting our plight to millions of peoplein the same situation can help raiseawareness to the impacts that climatechange may cause and perhaps mobilizean appropriate response.

In May and June, the park will be hosting a speaker series on climatechange. Experts from a variety of different organizations will be

speaking on the subject at the park.

Tuesday MAY 27 | Tuesday JUNE 3 | Tuesday JUNE 10

CL IMATE CHANGE SPEAKER SERIES AT THE PARK

The Medalitself wasdesigned byartist, sculptorand formerTrustee RobertW. White,grandson ofSaint-Gaudens’sometime collaborator,Stanford White.

The Medal has only been

awarded eight times (six times in itspresent form). The last time was in 2005,when it was given to Earl A. Powell,Director of the National Gallery of Art inWashington, DC which restored theplaster Shaw Memorial formerly at thepark, and exhibits it on long-term loan.

James Atkinson is a historian and scholar,collector and donor, a Friend, and asome-time portrayer of the great Saint-Gaudens himself, along with his wifeGretchen Holm as Gussie. His talentsand generosity have been enormouslybeneficial to the park – its special proj-ects and its collections – and to publicknowledge about Saint-Gaudens andthe Cornish Colony. Mr. Atkinson isauthor (with the late Virginia Colby) ofthe outstanding book “Footprints of thePast,” a definitive encyclopedia ofCornish Colony artists. He has been

a colleague and collaborator with parkstaff in his capacity as president of theCornish Historical Society. He has beena prodigious collector of Cornish Colonyart and historical material and has madethe park beneficiary of a significant portion of his collection of art, includingetchings by Stephen Parrish, significantlyexpanding its Cornish Colony collection.He and Ms. Holm will also be remem-bered by many for their portrayals of Mr. and Mrs. Saint-Gaudens that appearin re-enactment scenes in the PBS filmAugustus Saint-Gaudens: Master ofAmerican Sculpture as well as in theinterpretive film about Saint-Gaudensshown at the park.

All are invited for presentation of theMedal to Mr. Atkinson on Sunday, July 13 at 2:00pm at the Little Studio,followed by the concert, Occasional Musicfor Early Winds and Plucked Strings.

S A I N T - G A U D E N S M E D A L T O B EA W A R D E D T O J A M E S B . A T K I N S O NThe Saint-Gaudens Medal is intended to honor individuals and/orinstitutions who, through their talents and beneficence, have made a distinguished contribution to the arts in America in the high tradition of Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

The Saint-Gaudens Medal designed by Trustee Robert W. White. c. 1992.

James B. Atkinson.

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2014 SUMMER CONCERTS

Concerts are on Sundays @ 2pm. For details on concerts and exhibits visit www.sgnhs.org

JUNE 22 Marching from Broadway to L.A., Family Picnic Hamper Day Pre-concert activities 11:00 – 1:30 pm

JUNE 29 Classically Modern—Basque Dances to Beatles, Larry Nowlan Memorial Concert

JULY 6 Masterworks by Brahms, Bernstein, Arnold, Debussy, Littleton Coin Company Concert

JULY 13 Occasional Music for Early Winds and Plucked Strings

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 AUGUST 3 Between Worlds, Native American Inspirations AUGUST 10 European Masters for Eight Hands, Bea Richardson and Chuck Bradway Concert

AUGUST 17 Pictures at an Exhibition, 9th Annual Rosamond Edmondson Memorial Concert

AUGUST 24 An Afternoon in Paris and Vienna, Dedicated to Judy Platt

AUGUST 31 Celebrating the Great American Song Book

2014 EXH IB I T IONS IN THE P ICTURE GALLERY

MAY 24 - JULY 6Elaine Bradford:

Ceremonial ConcealmentReception Saturday, May 24

4:30 – 6:00pmArtist’s Talk at 5pm

JULY 12 - AUGUST 31Jane Marsching: Test Site2013 Saint-Gaudens Fellow

Reception Saturday, July 12 4:00pm

Artist’s Talk at 4:15pm

SEPT 6 - OCT 26Heather Dewey-Hagborg:

Stranger VisionsOpening Saturday, September 6

4:30 – 6:00pmArtist’s Talk at 5pm

2014 EVENTS AND WORKSHOPS

TUESDAYS, MAY 27, JUNE 3, & 10 — CLIMATE CHANGE SPEAKER SERIES — 6:00pm

SATURDAYS, MAY – OCTOBER — SCULPTURE WORKSHOPSThe 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)

SEPTEMBER 27— SCULPTURAL VISIONS11:00am – 4:30 pm (rain/cloud date 9/14) Free admission all day.