Wednesday, October 26, 2011

CWN 150 Updates

Farragut Statue Undergoing Much Needed Restorations (Dnainfo/Mary Johnson)
FARRAGUT STATUE CHECKUP AND CLEANING
Augustus Saint-Gaudens, sculptor

Long overdue, the David Glasgow Farragut Monument in New York City is currently undergoing an annual checkup and cleaning.  The monument, made by master sculptor and "American Renaissance" pioneer Augustus Saint-Gaudens, depicts a brave and courageous Admiral standing 15.5 feet tall in Madison Square Park.  According to Mary Johnson from New York's DNAInfo.com, the statue was due for a "much-needed bath."  Many who are unfamiliar with Saint-Gaudens work will easily recognize his most famous piece, the Robert Shaw/54th Mass. Monument. 

Originally dedicated in 1881, the monument still rests peacefully, if not a big dirty, in the "Big Apple."  The sculpture is now part of the Municipal Art Society's "Adopt-a-Monument" program.  The cleaning will consist of cleaning the sculpture and its base.  Armed with bamboo skewers, dedicated individuals like Cameron Wilson take the time to notice the blowing drapery as depicted in the sculpture.   It is as if Farragut is still standing on the rigging shouting those famous words at Mobile Bay.  They are doing some fine working to restore some of our nation's most treasured monuments in the five boroughs.  The article includes an excellent picture gallery of the restoration process.   

Read the full article from DNAInfo.com HERE.

Around the Blogosphere

The Monitor Begins
This week marks the 150th anniversary of the USS Monitor's construction.  According to Mariners' Museum VP of Museum Collections & Programs Anna Holloway's Facebook account: "‎150 Years ago today, with the ink barely dry on the construction contract, workers at Continental Iron Works in Greenpoint, Brooklyn began work on Ericsson's Battery. You might know her better as the USS Monitor. :)."  We couldn't have said it any better.  Shoot over to the Civil War Connections blog to read more about the Monitor's sesquicentennial construction.

USS Onondaga Ship Model
There is an excellent post by historian and CWN 150 blog contributor Gordon Calhoun on the Hampton Roads Naval Museum blog page.  The article focuses on the model of the double-turreted USS Onondaga, which is located in the HRNM Civil War gallery. The post includes a contemporary sketch of the ship by Aldred Waud.  Go to the blog post HERE.

Admirals Row: Week of 24 OCT (What is Admiral's Row?)

No comments:

Post a Comment