UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 37, Page 1
July 23, 1992
'60s sculpture safari starts Craven's documentation

     Discovering, researching and cataloging American sculpture has
been an ongoing interest and activity for Wayne Craven, H.F. du Pont
Professor of Art History. Now he's carrying this interest of nearly 30
years one step further and working to preserve it.
     The author of the definitive book, Sculpture in America, and the
creator of the Index of American Sculpture, which is the basis for a
computerized archive at the National Museum of American Art, Craven is
an acknowledged authority on American sculpture and painting.
     Recently, he was invited to serve on the advisory board of Save
Outdoor Sculpture (SOS), which is involved in a project to enlist and
train community volunteers to catalogue and preserve outdoor
sculpture.
     Craven was a pioneer in seeking out and cataloging sculpture. He
recalls that in 1964, he and his wife, Lorna, went on a sculpture
safari to record existing sculpture in cities and towns. Equipped with
camera, floodlights, card table and typewriter, the two explorers hit
the road in Bangor, Maine, and traveled south to Charleston, S.C.,
then west to Cincinnati, seeking and recording sculptures in each
town. The result was the nucleus of Craven's Index of American
Sculpture.
     "No one else had done this," Craven recalled, "and no one knew
what sculptures existed and where they were located. For example, at
Harvard University, I did everything but look in the broom closets for
sculptures and listed them all. I knew the director of Harvard's Fogg
Museum, and at the end of my search, I told him that Harvard owned 247
pieces of sculpture. He was astonished and, in fact, suggested that I
catalog them. I didn't have the time, and the project did not
materialize, although I am sure it has been done since then."
     When Craven and his wife arrived in a town, they looked for
outdoor sculptures in parks, squares and cemeteries, and for indoor
sculptures in libraries, museums and public buildings. They made
inquiries about where sculptures might be located and if there were
any local artists. Then, using local resources such as the library or
historical society, Craven would research the statuary. His wife set
up the card table and typewriter to record his notes. "There was no
Xerox then so we couldn't just copy pages," he recalled.
     Some of the sculptures were unusual, such as a mortar and pestle
marking the grave of a pharmacist.
     The odyssey ended when the muffler fell off the car, and the
weather got extremely hot. "I repaired the car, and we headed for
home," Craven said.
     In a later project, Craven was asked to write a book on the
outdoor sculptures at Gettysburg. Entitled The Sculptures at
Gettsyburg, the book was published in 1982 with photographs of the
statues of Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade and Gen. Robert E. Lee facing
each other on horseback on the title page.
     In the introduction, Craven wrote that, in "honoring the death
and deeds of valiant sons, the several participating states have
caused to come together a splendid outdoor museum of American
sculpture..." At that time, the statues were suffering from
deterioration, Craven said, but now, steps are being taken to conserve
and restore them.
     Craven is looking forward to his assignment with SOS, as he will
be working with two former University graduate students who have made
their mark as art conservationists, art historians and museum
curators: Lewis Sharpe, director of the Denver Art Museum, and George
Gurney of the sculpture department of the National Museum of American
Art.
     In one area in particular, Craven said his research in sculptures
would be helpful to SOS. "Bronze statues turn a lovely soft green
color, but unfortunately that color signals bronze disease, or
corrosion. The original raw bronze color is an ugly brown, and most
sculptors apply a patina to their works. This could be black, dark
green, olive, light green or khaki or other shades. To restore a piece
to its original color requires some research, such as looking back to
a sculptor's correspondence with a foundry. From my research
resources, I can help determine the original color of the patina," he
said.
     Joyce Hill Stone, chairperson of the University's Department of
Art Conservation, serves on the board of the National Institute for
the Conservation of Cultural Property, which sponsors SOS, in
conjunction with the National Museum of American Art, a part of the
Smithsonian Institution.
                                        -Sue Swyers Moncure