2006 May – Artist: Susan Van Winkle - Society of Connecticut ...

SCS Newsletter May, 2006
EDITOR’S MUSINGS
We’re entering a new phase in the life of the Society of Connecticut Sculptors with the
creation of our very own website thanks to the invaluable and tireless work of Charlie Young.
We are hoping that you will be as delighted by this as we are in that with your
membership in the Society, you will be able to post your own bio and website
there. This can increase your own exposure in the sculpture world and
hopefully bring you commissions and sales if that is what you are looking for.
We now have a pretty complete list of members’ emails so there is a lot
we can do online to inform you of events and remind you of deadlines for shows, etc. In the
future, email may be used as a way to transmit our newsletter if individuals prefer to receive it
that way.
As always, comments and suggestions are welcome. The survey sheet at the end of the
newsletter will help us in our planning. Thanks!
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--Wendy Swain
Outdoor Sculpture at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center
For sculpture lovers, it is worth a trip to Stamford to see the impressive collection of
outdoor sculpture that is there. The building and the grounds are lovely. In the late 1920’s,
New York designer and department store owner, Henri Bendel asked his architect, Perry
Barker, to design a mansion in North Stamford that recreated the classical elegance of the
British manor house. Since 1955, it has been the home of the
Stamford Museum & Nature Center.
The Bendel
/Perry design
included the use
of several Italian
marble sculptures
in the
decoration of
the gardens.
This was in
keeping with
the British habit
SCS Newsletter May, 2006
of adorning the grounds of some of the “great Houses” with
Italian art, much of it acquired by their owners in the mid to
late 1800’s in the course of their “Grand Tour.”
The artworks most essential to the design of the mansion are
the so-called Bendel Horses and the Bendel Lions on the
Fountain Plaza. Made by unidentified artists, these Italian
sculptures give the entrance to the mansion an impressive
and sumptuous effect. The Horses are the oldest pieces in
the group, dating from ca. 1850 while the Lions date from
ca. 1875. The stairway that surrounds them with its
balustrade is a classical feature of the Italianate period in
British garden design, which started about 1850 and
remained in fashion until the late 1800’s.
On the walkway between the lakeside and the main
building’s entrance are “The Four Seasons” sculptures which
were donated to the Center by Conde Nast, Inc. in 1947.
The originals of these allegorical sculptures were designed to
celebrate the wedding of CosimoII, Grand Duke of Tuscany,
in 1608. They are the work of Pietro Francavilla (Spring),
Artists are visionaries.
We routinely practice
a form of faith, seeing clearly
and moving toward a creative
goal that shimmers in the
distance—often visible to us,
but invisible to those around us.
--Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way
Giovanni-Battista Caccini (Summer and Fall)
and Taddeo Landini (Winter). The Museum’s
sculptures are probably 19 th century copies,
except for Summer, which may be an original by
Francavilla.
One of the most appealing pieces in the
Center’s outdoor sculpture collection is “Ruth”
by Giovanni-Battista Lombardi. Made in Rome
in 1862, this graceful sculpture sits in a gazebo
across from the “Four Seasons.” In “Ruth,”
Lombardi blends elements of the Neoclassical
and the Romantic styles. The serence demeanor
of the figure is most appropriate for this Biblical
character, a symbol of kindness. The gazebo
itself is a replica of a small circular temple located
in the Villa Cimbrone in Ravello, Italy.
There are also sculptures in different
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Society of CT Sculptors
Board of Directors
John Molloy, President
Harold Wright, Treasurer
Susan Zurles, Vice President
Lea Ann Cogswell, Secretary
Members at Large
Ken Bujnowski,
Steffi Friedman,
Rosemary Gurpide,
Helene Johnson,
Fred Richman,
Fay Stevenson-Smith,
Wendy Swain,
Jack Yerkes