sculpture

List of America’s Public Monuments Reveals One-Sided History Obsessions

October 11, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Who are the 50 individuals most frequently represented by a public monument in the US? What percentage of those 50 are white and male? How many are women? And what are the dynamics that helped shape who is — and who is not — on that list?

Answers to those questions are among the findings of the National Monument Audit, a first-of-its-kind report issued by Monument Lab, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit art and history studio. [Read more…] about List of America’s Public Monuments Reveals One-Sided History Obsessions

Nancy Cunard, Modernism and the Private Press Movement

September 29, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

The history of the modern private press can be said to have started in early 1891 with William Morris’s foundation of the Kelmscott Press at 16 Upper Mall, Hammersmith, and the publication of his own work The Story of the Glittering Plain.

There had been forerunners of course. Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill Press, established in June 1757, set a precedent by producing splendid books, pamphlets, and ephemera, but it was Morris who succeeded in establishing a cost-effective press for high quality publications. His initiative gave birth to a host of similar undertakings. He initiated the Private Press Movement which was closely associated with the rise of modernist ideas. Morris also had a remarkable following in New York. [Read more…] about Nancy Cunard, Modernism and the Private Press Movement

St. Johnsville’s Lion in Love Sculpture: A Piece of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel Upstate

August 18, 2021 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

The Margaret Reaney Memorial Library is a fixture in the Erie Canal-side community of St. Johnsville, Montgomery County, NY. The Library contains a museum which features a wide array of art in a very fine collection.

An outdoor sculpture display in the north garden is listed in the Library’s catalog as “Nude Female and Lion” by Roland Hinton Perry. The bronze was cast in 1898 by Jno. Williams, Inc. foundry which was located on West 26th Street in Manhattan. [Read more…] about St. Johnsville’s Lion in Love Sculpture: A Piece of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel Upstate

Ars gratia Artis: The Fraser Collection at Syracuse University

August 11, 2021 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

The study of art may be perceived as trivial, yet for many it can be a cathartic pastime, and still others are clever enough to earn a living from it. An investigation under this topic which can be greatly refined is sculpture. The three dimensional medium is so broad that it allows many areas of awareness, and also permits the student multiple personal preferences.

The Empire State is a great repository of sculpture, and our colleges and universities hold much of this collection and provide instruction as well. One fine example would be Syracuse University, which holds a vast assemblage of art through several centuries. The collection at Syracuse University includes the papers of Laura Gardin Fraser and her husband James Earle Fraser. This couple produced some very notable art work; however, their names are not widely recognized. [Read more…] about Ars gratia Artis: The Fraser Collection at Syracuse University

Harriet Whitney Frishmuth’s ‘Humoresque’ Cavorting at Canajoharie

July 29, 2021 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

The Arkell Museum and the Canajoharie Library were created by Bartlett Arkell, the founder and president of the Beech-Nut Packing Company as a gift to that community in 1927.

Arkell collected art work for the facility, much of it having a Mohawk Valley theme, with a zeal which can only be admired. His generous gift remains a very accessible collection to be appreciated by a grateful posterity. [Read more…] about Harriet Whitney Frishmuth’s ‘Humoresque’ Cavorting at Canajoharie

Saratoga’s Spencer Trask Memorial Being Restored After Vandalism

July 14, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Saratoga Springs City Council has accepted a donation by the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation to make a repair to the architectural surround of the Spirit of Life and Spencer Trask Memorial in Congress Park, a National Historic Landmark. In 2019 a baluster of the surround was stolen. [Read more…] about Saratoga’s Spencer Trask Memorial Being Restored After Vandalism

Sampson State Park’s Remarkable Military, Education & Public Health History

July 11, 2021 by Bill Orzell 1 Comment

The site of the present Sampson State Park in Romulus, Seneca County, NY was formerly the site of the Sampson Navy Base. As the United States found itself at war following the attack on Pearl Harbor in late 1941, the U.S. Navy had an immediate need for sailors. Basic training bases, or boot camps, were constructed across the country to meet this emergency requirement. [Read more…] about Sampson State Park’s Remarkable Military, Education & Public Health History

Geneva, NY’s Veterans Memorial Fountain: A History

July 4, 2021 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

The Veterans Memorial Fountain has stood in Geneva, New York’s Pulteney Park for more than 80 years. It is a gray marble sculpture of a full-size female form, on one knee, thrusting a Hoplite sword into the ground, allegorically symbolizing the cessation of hostilities.

The sculpture, created by Jean MacKay Henrich (1909-2002) and entitled “Our Lady of Peace,” is mounted on a pink marble base and is surrounded by a stepped pool, also of pink marble, from which fountains of water issue upward. The entire Veterans Monument in Pulteney Park was designed by noted architect and professional photographer, Thomas Lyon White of Geneseo, and was partially funded by the Works Project Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression.

The design plan was to symbolically memorialize Veterans of all struggles, rather than any particular person or campaign. The architect and sculptor worked together to develop a simple yet warm tone in the memorial by which Geneva would preserve forever the love of country and sacrifice made by those who did not return home. [Read more…] about Geneva, NY’s Veterans Memorial Fountain: A History

Redesigned Women’s Suffrage Statue Approved For Central Park

October 22, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York City Public Design Commission has approved the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument placement in Central Park. The statue of women’s rights pioneers Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony, will be the first statue depicting real women in the 165-year history of the park.

The statue was redesigned to include Sojourner Truth after criticism that the original design excluded the contributions of people of color. It’s being sculpted by Meredith Bergmann.

Viewpoint: Rethink The Planned Central Park Suffrage Statue

May 27, 2019 by Alan J. Singer 6 Comments

In May 1866, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, a leading African American poet, lecturer and civil right activist, addressed the Eleventh National Women’s Rights Convention in New York City. Other speakers included white suffragists Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott.

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was born to free parents in Baltimore during slavery days. She became a teacher, writer, speaker at abolitionist rallies, and worked with the Philadelphia branch of the Underground Railroad. She was a co-founder and vice president of the National Association of Colored Women and a member of the American Women’s Suffrage Association. [Read more…] about Viewpoint: Rethink The Planned Central Park Suffrage Statue