Part 2. “NOTABLE”. “EXEMPLIFICATION”. “ARBITRATION”.
Three test patches are visible on the commemorative bronze plaque set into Tablet Rock. Along with surface patina aesthetic choices, test patches are left to cure or age to see their impact. When considering care and protection for public art, there is no singular approach. There is no other American commemorative tablet that’s so colossal, set into a glacial outcropping in this precise angle and manner, and susceptible to its surroundings and climate over this length of time. Hence the test patches.
Daedalus is a renowned sculpture conservation firm and will approach this work with respect.
Money was raised to address the plaque and patination (some had preference for a brown finish) Gloucester Daily Times, 2016, and then that project was paused. As far as I know, funds were not returned nor redirected for restoration of the city’s art deemed in distress. At the time William Taylor addressed the verdigris:
“As an antique dealer for decades who dealt many times with bronzes and patinas I completely agree that the tablet should not be restored. While I applaud…well-meaning and generous inclinations not only does natural oxidization form a protective surface it looks appropriate and should not be fiddled with. Restoration is too expensive and absolutely not necessary. Cleaning it would remove many decades of well acquired history.
The enormous 20th Century plaque on Tablet Rock in Stage Fort Park commemorating the first permanent European settlement, the “Founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1623”, was dedicated in August 1907. James R. Pringle was designated to write the inscription. The execution of the design and bas relief border was by Eric Pape.
“The nautical scheme of decorative framework and embellishment was the composite suggestion” of various committees dating as far back as the 1880s.
Founders plaque – tablet rock photo C. Ryan 2016
Image block documenting how Tablet Rock looked pre bronze tablet through today: before the plaque, 1901 (branded Battery K still visible); 1907 dedication, Library of Congress (Hammond with his daughter Natalie Hammond); 1970s; 1974 (graffiti beneath); 2016; 2019. Note the rectangular area beneath the plaque was lightened at the time of installation. The border carving degraded. The dark streaks accelerated after 2020 (note the verdigris patina 2016, 2019, etc)
Now there’s three centuries of striving for equality expressed in public art sculpture on Boston Commons.
photo caption: Daybreak photos on Boston Commons, January 13, 2023, a few hours before the Embrace unveiling ceremony- and the rain.
Hank Willis Thomas Monument to the Kings
The memorial byHank Willis Thomas is installed just inside the Boston Common Parkman Plaza entrance (across from 151 Tremont St.). Today’s event precedes the public access to the site. Note: The area will be fenced off for a few more weeks before public access is cleared.
In addition to photo documentation of how the Embrace looks today as its readied for the unveiling event, there are photos of the art featured on the temporary fence wrap; the surroundings alongside the new installation and how the Embrace is set into the Boston Commons to give an idea of scale; and photos of the Robert Kraus Boston Massacre / Crispus Attucks Memorial (dedicated 1888), the Augustus St.-Gaudens Robert Gould Shaw | 54th Regiment Memorial (1897), and the John ParaminoSigning of the Declaration of Independence tribute tablet (1925) for context and to illustrate their proximity. With the addition of the Embrace (2022) commission, three centuries of striving for equality– now including a tribute to a woman* rather than an allegory for the spirit of Freedom– are located on the Boston Commons within sight of the State House.
*Cyrus Dallin’s Ann Hutchinson and Sylvia Shaw Judson‘s Mary Dyer statues are on the State House grounds.
2023 January 13- morning of Embrace unveiling
Embrace is by American artist Hank Willis Thomas, with Mass Design Group architects. It’s 22 feet high and was fabricated in the Walla Walla Foundry. Thomas was inspired by a photograph of the spouses hugging when MLK was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. When it’s open, people can walk through the heart of the sculpture. I’ll write more about it later. Hank Willis Thomas is now represented by Pace Gallery, NY.
American History – For Freedoms
The Embrace will fall on the Freedom Trail and Black Heritage trail. It’s incredibly moving to visit these liberty milestones sited in such close proximity.
Jan 23, 2023 photos emphasize site lines in relation to the new Embrace commission.
1888 Boston Massacre – Crispus Attucks obelisk
Boston Massacre – Crispus Attucks bronze by Robert Kraus. The 25 feet high obelisk marks the day of the Boston Massacre and includes a tribute to its victims.
Crispus Attucks, a freed black man, whaler, and sailor, was the first revolutionary killed in the battle for liberty.
The sculpture was inspired by Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People commemorating France’s battle to overthrow the King in 1830 (decades following the French Revolution). France’s National Assembly disclosed the Declaration to the Rights of Man and Citizen in 1789. Olympe de Gouges pamplet, Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne (the Declaration of the Rights of Women and the (Female) Citizens) came soon thereafter.
Boston Commons: Boston Massacre | Crispus Attucks Memorial on left; Embrace King tribute between the trees, past the temporary fencing; State House dome on right. Rainy day scenes are 2023. Blue skies were March 2018. All photos: C. Ryan
1925 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE TABLET
Sculptor John Paramino, after (John) Trumbull’s monumental painting completed in 1818 and installed in the Capitol, The Signing of the Declaration of Independence (Aug 1776), tablet set into granite with eagle carving and produced at the Gorham foundry, Providence, RI.
Closer to home in Gloucester, Massachusetts, the bronze doors on the A. Piatt Andrew bridge are by Paramino.
1897 54th Regiment Robert Gould Shaw memorial
Augustus Saint-Gaudens took nearly fourteen years to finish. The memorial was unveiled May 31, 1897. Charles McKim designed the site. The names are carved at the back The paths slope down in the direction of the new statue.
People on their phones that morning whether standing, seated or walking.
June 2022- BEFORE installation
site work
Rainy day scenes, today, Jan 13, 2023. Before scenes depicting site preparation and leafy trees dated June 2022. photos: C. Ryan
About the Embrace memorial Fence Wrap Artists
featuring Rixy Fernandez, Yotron the Don, Malakhai Pearson, Harry Scales, Zahirah Nur Truth, and Ngoc-Tran Vu
1960 – Religion, Learning, Industry
Wayfinding: Commissioned for a 1958 build out for Parkman Plaza designed by Shurcliff and Merrill, this tribute celebrates Boston’s industriousness, scholarship and spiritual history. Sculptors Arcangelo Cascieri & Adio di Biccari completed the series before a 1960 installation. The unveiling dedication was in 1961. This is the closest park entrance to see the Embrace.
blue sky photo: C. Ryan, March 2018 – Religion, Industry, Knowledge Boston Tribute 1961
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There is much exciting work in progress along Stacy Boulevard including welcome tributes to women. Incremental aesthetic improvements, public access, ease of movement, and celebration of culture require many hands and deliver a huge impact. Here is a brief description of the special current projects and some people involved.
Two revitalized and enhanced gardens beyond the tennis courts will emphasize generations of care
“Remarkable support comes from volunteer expertise like award winning designer Ann Geraldi Johnson and Susan Kelly and the Generous Gardeners who have stepped up as the city’s groundskeepers on the boulevard.” Mike Hale, Director of Public Works
The Elizabeth Gordon Smith (Betty Smith) garden was cleared and the small Picture garden past the boulevard tennis courts was unearthed. Because Gloucester garden groups pre-date 1900, it’s especially moving to see the work in progess shoring up inspiring legacy connections. Incredible volunteers past and present serve the city’s Department of Public Works (DPW). Stacy Boulevard & Stage Fort Park advocates like Betty Smith, Louise Loud & the Gloucester Civic & Garden Council tended and protected Gloucester’s natural beauty — the very same grounds that are so lovingly served now by dynamos like Ann Gilardi Johnson and Susan Kelly & the Generous Gardeners. Plaques for Lucy Brown Davis, tribute by her sister Catalina Davis, and for Lucy P. Rogers ” president of the Gloucester’s Woman’s Club 1927-29″ are nearby.
photos: Betty Smith garden IN PROGRESS February (overgrowth and clearing underway–poison ivy was found) vs. March and can’t wait to experience the AFTER!
February 2019
March 24, 2019 more progress two gardens revitalized- Paul Manship Triton fantastic enhanced boulder base clearing
Gloucester, Mass., March 2019. Pubic art – Walker Hancock Triton
March 2019 work continuing across Stacy Boulevard – read details HERE about these projects– Hancock Sculpture, Betty Smith Gardens & Tennis Courts to the East, and Blynman Bridge & railings to the West- additional stunning work and investment thanks to Gloucester MA Department of Public Works, Ann Gilardi Johnson, Generous Gardeners, CPA, Department of Transportation (DOT), and more. Stacy Boulevard Part 8
March 24, 2019 photos of Walker Hancock Triton and grounds prep before/in process.
Gloucester, Mass., March 2019. Pubic art – Walker Hancock Triton
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Good Morning Gloucester 