Sunday, Jul 9, 2006
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site Recipient of Conservation Grants
During the 2006 season the Park has received a grant from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts with matching funds from the Saint-Gaudens Memorial in the amount of $21,000, to conserve 21 works of sculpture from the collection.
As part of the Park’s continued interest in preserving and maintaining the collection of 10,000 works of art, this Conservation Grant from the Arts Council will allow some of the plaster preliminary works to be cleaned and repaired.
The public regularly sees finished works by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, but the majority of the collection is never seen. These plaster pieces are the first ideas from the sculptor’s studio. As part of the bronze-making process, the artist first shapes the piece in clay, then casts it in plaster. This gives a permanent record of the earliest ideas, which can still be changed until the artist is satisfied, and ready to form the final mold from which the bronze is poured.
The Park has the largest collection of these early works of Saint-Gaudens in existence, making this a repository for researchers and institutions interested in a study of how nineteenth century sculpture is made.
The collection of works preserved by this grant will allow the Park to exhibit these pieces and to have them available for study. Many of them have not been displayed previously, but may now be accessible. The works include some interesting portrait studies, including one plaster that was painted by Saint-Gaudens as an experiment in portraiture. He often tried new ideas to see which ones were the best for his work, and the most easily sold to his patrons. The painted plaster piece is unique, which is also fascinating for us to see an idea that was rejected by the artist. Other works conserved are by Saint-Gaudens’ sister-in-law Annetta Saint-Gaudens. The Park has a smaller collection of works by Saint-Gaudens family members, many of whom were artists as well. As a sample of these pieces, the works preserved by this grant will also be useful for the public to see aspects of the collection they may not be familiar with.
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