Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 9, 1994 TAG: 9410100011
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Artists, historians, preservationists and students are taking part in Save Our Sculpture to inventory public works of art, assess their condition and increase public awareness, said Virginia coordinator Sarah S. Driggs of the state Department of Historic Resources.
``We want the public to be thinking about the sculptures, and we want the government and arts groups to be aware of them,'' Driggs said. ``When we leave, there will still be people in the community aware of the need to preserve outdoor art.''
``This is a great idea and one that's been long needed,'' said volunteer W. Warren Woodworth of Waynesboro, a painter and director of exhibits at the Shenandoah Valley Arts Center. ``We have records of everything else.''
``People should have the opportunity to get this information,'' said Cecile Clover of Charlottesville, a specialist in painting restoration. ``These aren't just punched out of a mold.''
Nationwide, there are about 7,000 volunteers working for Save Our Sculpture. The Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum of American Art and the National Institute for Conservation of Cultural Property, all in Washington, are sponsoring the project.
The Department of Historic Resources is coordinating the campaign in Virginia, where it is hoped several hundred volunteers can be recruited. State officials expect to find about 400 sculptures statewide, not including private pieces, Driggs said.
One Charlottesville volunteer already has taken stock of 24 pieces of outdoor sculpture, including three likenesses of Thomas Jefferson and six pieces carved by Albemarle County sculptor David Breeden.
One of the standouts in the central Virginia catalog is a work by Charles Keck of Gen. Thomas J. ``Stonewall'' Jackson, who is mounted on his horse in Jackson Park next to the Albemarle County Courthouse. President Harry S. Truman reportedly declared it the best equestrian statue he'd ever seen and ordered a replica for Missouri.
In addition to researching such stories surrounding the art, volunteers will assess the condition of the sculptures. In Stonewall Jackson's case, the figure on horseback is discolored from years of acid rain, and the base is staining from corrosion, according to the volunteers who inspected it Saturday.
The final step in the project will be to invite public and private groups to help finance restoration of statues that have deteriorated, Driggs said.
The Virginia inventory is expected to take until next October.
Anyone interested in volunteering for Save Our Sculpture should contact Driggs at the Department of Historic Resources, (804)225-3850.
by CNB