August Issue 1999
Sculpture From Brookgreen Gardens Featured At Rockefeller Center
Paul Howard Manship: Monumental Works at Rockefeller Center, an exhibition of works by one of the premiere sculptors of the twentieth century, opened in the Channel Garden at Rockefeller Center on June 23, 1999. Through an ongoing collaboration between Rockefeller Center Properties, Inc., Trust, Tishman Speyer Properties and the Public Art Fund, New Yorkers and visitors to the city will have a rare opportunity to view five bronze Manship sculptures on loan from Brookgreen Gardens, located near Pawley's Island, SC, in one of New York City's quintessential public spaces. The exhibition will be on view through Sept. 6 on the specially landscaped promenade, leading from Fifth Avenue to the heart of Rockefeller Center.
The Manship exhibition marks the beginning of Rockefeller Center's Millennium Project, a yearlong celebration leading up to the beginning of the twenty-first century The centerpiece of the summer exhibition is Manship's gilded figure of Prometheus, a monumental work of the mythological Titan who gave fire to humanity. Completed in 1934, Prometheus has become one of America's most recognized sculptures and a central attraction of Rockefeller Center.
From one of Manship's most famous works, Prometheus, to additional sculptures on loan from Brookgreen Garden's extensive collection of American figurative sculpture, the exhibition presents this artist's singular path in the history of American art during the 20th century. Beginning on Fifth Avenue, visitors to the exhibition will encounter Diane and Actaeon, a gilt pair representing the Roman goddess, Diana, and her companion, Actaeon. They depict the myth of the unfortunate hunter whom Diana, in a fit of rage, transforms into a stag after he stumbles upon her bathing in a woodland pool. Just a few paces beyond, Evening is installed. Manship's poetic imagination is revealed in this sculpture, a component of Moods of Time, a fountain group designed as a pendant to Time and the Fates of Man for the 1939 New York World's Fair. Moods of Time were four figures representing Morning, Day, Evening and Night. Evening is symbolized by a dreamy female figure that floats horizontally above a group of clouds.
Sited at the Center of the Channel Gardens and surrounded by a dramatic floral landscape are Time and the Fates of Man. With this work, Paul Manship employs his favorite devices in sculpture; symbolism and time. The three Greek fates that determined the destiny of mankind are depicted within a composition anchored by the Tree of Life. In front, posed like a ship's figurehead, is Clotho, the youngest fate, who presides at the moment of birth and spins the thread of life from a distaff. The second figure, Lachesis, stands and measures the thread as it passes through her fingers. Depicted as a woman in her prime, she determines the direction of life. The thread continues behind her to the third figure, Atropos, who is shown as an old woman with shears, cutting the thread of life at death.
At the western end of the Channel Gardens is Manship's Cycle of Life symbolizing the earth with the life cycle of the family at its center. Bands decorated with signs of the zodiac, the hours of the day, symbols of the four elements and representations of evening and morning surround the piece. The sphere rests on a circle of turtles, ancient symbols of eternity. And framing the view of Prometheus from the Channel Gardens, are Youth and Maiden which were originally commissioned as companion figures for Rockefeller Center's famous fire god, one male and one female, to represent humankind. Placed on either side of the gilded Prometheus, each figure extends one hand to receive the gift of fire.
The art collection at Rockefeller Center, a premier location for art in New York City since 1931, includes well over 100 works by more than thirty artists. The Public Art fund has supported quality public exhibitions of art in New York City for more than 20 years, providing opportunities for emerging and established artists to create works that respond to the City's unique urban environment.
Brookgreen Gardens began in 1931 when philanthropist Archer Huntington and his wife, sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington, set out to create "a quiet joining of hands between science and art." Comprised of land originally granted to colonists for four plantations, Brookgreen's 9,000 acres stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Waccamaw River, and is the site of the world's largest collection of American Figurative sculpture. Displayed in a variety of garden settings, the collection now exceeds 800 pieces created by more than 200 sculptors, including virtually every American master of this art form. Brookgreen Gardens also contains the distinctive land forms, plants, animals and material culture of the South Carolina Lowcountry. It is one of only twelve institutions in the country accredited by both the American Association of Museums and the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.
Paul Howard Manship (1885-1966)
While Manship found his muse in ancient art and mythological symbolism, his composition was based on modernistic contoured form. After studying with Charles Grafly and working in the studios of Solon Borglum and Isidore Konti, Manship entered the American Academy at Rome at 1907. There he developed an interest in archaism that became characteristic of his figurative sculpture.
Returning to New York in 1910, he gained recognition with a series of commissioned works for private estates that were marked by an exuberant lightness of form. Subsequent pieces had a more simplified line that lent itself to animal sculpture, such as the famous Paul Rainey Memorial Gate at the New York Zoological Society.
Manship was an advocate for sculpture intended for outdoor placement, and while many of his works were truly monuments in size and significance, he also created smaller works for garden settings. He received almost every award given in his profession, including Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, the medal of honor of the National Sculpture Society, and the gold medal for sculpture of the National Institute of Arts and Letters.
For further information about this exhibit or Brookgreen Gardens
contact Jessica Sasser at 843/237-4218 or e-mail at: (jsasser@brookgreen.org).
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