2002 Achievement Award Winners
This year’s crop of Achievement Award applications was full of creative organizations with the enthusiasm and know-how to make their projects successful.
First place was awarded to the Soldiers’ Memorial Fountain Restoration, Inc., in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, for its conservation of the Martha’s Vineyard sculpture, built in 1891 by the J.W. Fiske Company. The Soldiers’ Memorial Fountain is a Civil War memorial, and a group of concerned residents first took action in 1998 to publicize its plight and raise funds for an assessment. The organized SMFR began in the summer of 2000 to raise funds through grants, donations, and sale of commemorative items. Publicity was generated through local and national newspaper and magazine articles and information booths at parades, fairs, and other local events. Mark Rabinowitz of Conservation and Sculpture Company took the sculpture back to his studio in Brooklyn, New York, for conservation.
On August 17, 2001, the preserved sculpture was on public view again, 110 years after the original dedication. Massachusetts 54th Regiment reenactors were present, as were local town officials, donors, and supporting organization representatives as honored guests. The statue was unveiled by Maya Strahan, a descendent of the sculpture’s original benefactor, Charles Strahan. The SMFR will apply its award funds towards ongoing maintenance.
Second Place
Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, contains many beautiful monuments in desperate need of conservation. The Saved in Time monument preservation booklet, produced by the Green-Wood Historic Fund, explains its sculpture program, outlines the estimated cost for 21 specific monuments, and encourages individuals and companies to participate. The conservation estimates (including sums to be set aside for ongoing maintenance) range from a few thousand dollars into the six figure range, so the program appeals to philanthropic individuals as well as larger organizations. Included in the full color, 56-page booklet are details of the deceased’s lives and historical context so potential donors may make connections with their adopted sculpture. The ambitious project hopes to net $1 million for conservation.
Joan of Arc rededication ceremony.
Courtesy Regional Arts & Culture Council,
Portland, Oregon.
In Portland, Oregon, Joan of Arc (Emmanuel Fremiet, 1925) received a magnificent makeover due to the efforts of the Regional Arts & Culture Council. The council began by involving the local neighborhood association with discussions and newsletter articles. By May 2002, over $23,000 had been raised locally, and the sculpture was the site for both an experimental light show the night before scaffolding was removed and a history and conservation lesson for sixth-graders. Jonathan Taggart of Taggart Objects Conservation directed the actual conservation, which included a re-gilding. The rededication included local schools, a church, and community members. Eighth-graders read a play, elementary students sang in “saintly” attire, and a local songstress performed a song composed for Joan that very morning. As an ongoing project, the Regional Arts & Culture Council had the local neighborhood association remove shrubbery surrounding the sculpture that reinforced vandalism.
Honorable Mentions
Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee, has published Elmwood 2002: In the Shadows of the Elms, which contains photographs and historical details of the monuments and individuals buried in the cemetery. Preeminent local historian Perre Magness and nationally known photographer Murray Riss joined forces with a genealogist and students of Victorian symbolism to produce the first documentation of the cemetery since Elmwood 1874 was published over a century ago. The book is heading into its second printing and is available for sale on the Web site www.elmwoodcemetery.org.
The mission of the Alexander Phimister Proctor Museum, Poulsbo, Washington, is to preserve all the monumental statues and architectural pieces of this American sculptor. Proctor’s grandson, museum director Sandy Church, joined associations and citizens to preserve The Roughrider, an equestrian statue of Teddy Roosevelt in Portland, Oregon. Three other sculptures in Denver, Colorado, and Buffalo, New York, have firm conservation commitments for the near future. The latest project has been observing the assessment and working to gain permission to preserve four larger-than-life buffaloes in Washington, DC.
In August 2001, the City of Columbia, Missouri, launched the “Share the Light” program. This first-of-a-kind program allows utility customers to make single or monthly donations to one of six community education and beatification areas of interest. Through the efforts of the Office of Cultural Affairs, one of these areas is public art. The funds are used to supplement the city’s public art program budget, with emphasis placed on ongoing maintenance for the city’s collection of public art. All funds are tax-deductible, and donors are recognized annually.
2000 Achievement Award Winners