Adopt-A-Monument Summer Update
More Than Twenty Monuments Received Conservation Maintenance through the Adopt-A-Monument Program
It’s summer—the ideal time for the conservation of outdoor sculptures. This spring and summer, the Municipal Art Society provided annual maintenance for more than 20 statues in the five boroughs through our landmark Adopt-A-Monument program. MAS recognizes the many donors who have risen to the challenge of the less celebrated but crucial maintenance of these works of art. Through endowed maintenance funds for sculpture, namely, the H. van Ameringen Fund, General Worth Fund, Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation Heinrich Heine Fountain Fund, Alexander Holley Fund, George Trescher Monument Fund, and the Paul and Klara Porzelt Maintenance Fund, MAS has established a long-range plan of annual monitoring the condition of the 38 monuments originally restored under the Adopt program.
Each artwork is first inspected, then a team removes surface dirt and graffiti, washes the sculpture, and applies a special wax coating for artworks made of bronze. The sculptures are cleaned and stabilized for aesthetic appearance and to halt deterioration. Maintenance treatments are performed by private conservators or the NYC Parks Citywide Monument Conservation crew, all hired by MAS. Our successful collaborative efforts with Jonathan Kuhn, Director of Art and Antiquities, NYC Parks, and Parks’ chief conservator, and John Saunders are evident in works pictured here as well maintenance performed by private conservators, Tatti Conservation, Cultural Heritage Conservation, and Wilson Conservation, our longest invaluable partner.
Bronx:
Bronx Victory Monument, Moshulu Parkway
Heinrich Heine Fountain, Joyce Kilmer Park
Grand Central Stones, Van Cortlandt Park
General Josiah Porter, Van Cortlandt Park
Brooklyn:
General Henry Warner Slocum, Plaza Street East and Grand Army Plaza
Lafayette, Prospect Park and Ninth Street entrance
Abraham Lincoln, Prospect Park, Concert Grove
Manhattan:
General Worth, Worth Triangle
Slocum Fountain, Tompkins Square
George Washington, Union Square
Lafayette, Union Square
Korean Monument, Battery Park
Peter Cooper, Cooper Square
Alexander Holley, Washington Square
Queens:
Form, Flushing-Meadows Corona Park
Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, 173rd Street and Hillside Avenue
Staten Island:
Neptune Fountain, Snug Harbor
Clarence T. Barrett, Stuyvesant Place and Borough Hall
This fall, two other major monuments will receive annual maintenance:
Admiral Farragut, Madison Square Park
Rocket Thrower, Flushing Meadows Corona Park
In addition to the above list, Matthew Reiley, Chief Conservator, Central Park Conservancy, and his crew, kindly provide annual maintenance of monuments in Central Park that were originally rescued and restored through the Adopt-A-Monument program. Among these are the familiar, much-loved, sculptures: Still Hunt, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, King Jagiello, the Richard Morris Hunt Memorial, and the Columbus Monument. We are grateful for this enduring partnership.