Saturn, Saint Gaudens & The Tom Seaver Era New York Mets
I live close enough to the Saint Gaudens National Historic
Site (SGNHS) such that my wife and I have visited several dozen times over the
years and we have brought our daughters there numerous times, too. In general, we drive out to the SGHNS at
least twice and up to four times during the year.
The site is in Cornish, NH, right along the Maxfield Parish Highway and has only a small sign at the beginning of the 0.6 mile long driveway. The driveway is fairly steep throughout and I imagine that 100+ years ago when the grounds were first built out that it was truly a bear to transport anything up the mountain. The tiny 24-spot parking lot has never been filled during one of our visits and this last weekend ours was the eighth car in the lot when we arrived around noon after a short walking tour of Dartmouth College. Admission to the park has increased in the last year, but at $7.00 per adult and no charge for children it is still a bargain. We have been there so often that we know all the Park Rangers by face as they do us, too, and the Park Ranger on duty gave me a friendly wave and asked if we were there to attend the star party that night. The star party was the precise reason why we were at the park that day and I will write about it shortly.
Across the private drive from the parking lot there is a sign to announce your arrival to the site. Behind this is a circular hedge with steps and directly behind the hedge is the house, which was named Aspet by Augustus Saint Gaudens. Aspet is the name of the town in France where Saint Gaudens father had been born. Next to the house is the studio. Neither is an enormous construction and the studio is likely just a tiny bit smaller than the home. We walked into the studio since the house is meant for guided tours while the studio allows a free flowing walk where you can actually get up next to the artwork and be as close as you like.
The site is in Cornish, NH, right along the Maxfield Parish Highway and has only a small sign at the beginning of the 0.6 mile long driveway. The driveway is fairly steep throughout and I imagine that 100+ years ago when the grounds were first built out that it was truly a bear to transport anything up the mountain. The tiny 24-spot parking lot has never been filled during one of our visits and this last weekend ours was the eighth car in the lot when we arrived around noon after a short walking tour of Dartmouth College. Admission to the park has increased in the last year, but at $7.00 per adult and no charge for children it is still a bargain. We have been there so often that we know all the Park Rangers by face as they do us, too, and the Park Ranger on duty gave me a friendly wave and asked if we were there to attend the star party that night. The star party was the precise reason why we were at the park that day and I will write about it shortly.
Across the private drive from the parking lot there is a sign to announce your arrival to the site. Behind this is a circular hedge with steps and directly behind the hedge is the house, which was named Aspet by Augustus Saint Gaudens. Aspet is the name of the town in France where Saint Gaudens father had been born. Next to the house is the studio. Neither is an enormous construction and the studio is likely just a tiny bit smaller than the home. We walked into the studio since the house is meant for guided tours while the studio allows a free flowing walk where you can actually get up next to the artwork and be as close as you like.
If one goes through the hedge and slightly to the left
(west) then the views would include the Temple to the northwest, the Little
Studio to the north and the home (Aspet) to the northeast. To the southwest is Mount Ascutney.
We ate our lunch on the porch of Aspet before exploring the
grounds. What look like grape vines
along the top of the porch on Aspet and along the veranda of the Little Studio
are, indeed, grape vines and at this time of the year they have large, dark
purple grapes. Inside the studio, Diana
dominates the central working area. The
top of her head stands perhaps ten feet off the ground and several images are included
to give a sense of the room and the materials in the room. Diana was the only nude female sculpture that
Saint Gaudens produced and it was originally placed at the top of Madison
Square Garden in New York City. While
there, it was gilded, lit up at night and continuously rotated. The model whose face was used for Diana was
also used for Amor Caritas.
The studio is flooded with natural light as well as being
filled with various works of art. These
include a plaque that describes the little temple behind the studio and a
special award presented to Saint Gaudens at the Pan American Exposition in
1901, which was created by Saint Gaudens’ former student, James Earle
Fraser. Both the plaque and the award
are about four feet in their longest dimension.
Just around the corner is a tiny extra room that had been the gift shop
in the 1990s, but is now a display of additional works of art. This is the only part of the studio that is
roped off and, although I managed to set off the alarm system when I leaned
over to take an image once, I did not do so on this trip. However, the Rangers ignored the alarm and,
when I later told one that I inadvertently set it off; they told me it happens to
them, too. These images show some of the
work on display in this tiny area including a work featuring Lincoln, the head
of the horse from the Sherman Memorial and a double eagle study with its
negative.
As soon as one exits the studio there are a series of small
gardens that have statues and pools.
These images show some of the works of art as well as the fish in the marble
pool of the Pan Garden. Just past this
garden there is a small wooded area with the Adams Memorial. This stands about seven feet high.
Many people consider the Adams Memorial to be one of the
pinnacle examples of the work of Saint Gaudens.
This monument had been commissioned after the suicide of Marian Adams
and, truly, I have always found this work to be somewhat disturbing. Others have described it as incredibly
contemplative, spiritual or soothing, but my thoughts always run toward the
idea that I am interrupting something and have invaded personal space. Indeed, this monument is set away from all
the others in its own small hedge enclosure.
I never feel at ease when I am in there.
Just a few feet away is a narrow, but much larger hedge enclosed area for the Shaw Memorial. I’ve included four images of the memorial to give a sense of depth and well as an idea about how much detail is present in the work. It is approximately four feet deep. Robert Gould Shaw was the leader of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, which was the first all-African American volunteer regiment. Saint Gaudens had initially proposed having Shaw as the major character of the memorial with the other soldiers far in the background, but Shaw’s family requested that the rest of the soldiers be given the care and respect that Shaw was to receive. The 1989 film “Glory” was based upon this unit, which was annihilated during the Second Battle of Fort Wagner.
Just a few feet away is a narrow, but much larger hedge enclosed area for the Shaw Memorial. I’ve included four images of the memorial to give a sense of depth and well as an idea about how much detail is present in the work. It is approximately four feet deep. Robert Gould Shaw was the leader of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, which was the first all-African American volunteer regiment. Saint Gaudens had initially proposed having Shaw as the major character of the memorial with the other soldiers far in the background, but Shaw’s family requested that the rest of the soldiers be given the care and respect that Shaw was to receive. The 1989 film “Glory” was based upon this unit, which was annihilated during the Second Battle of Fort Wagner.
Next to this is a double row of birch trees. This leads to the open air atrium and pool
next to a newer gallery. The atrium
prominently features Amor Caritas next to a reflecting pool. Tucked away next to the atrium is a small
nook with a much larger than life study of Lincoln. I’m 6’4” and this work towered over my head,
as does Amor Caritas. Inside the gallery
there is a treasure trove for the numismatist.
In the past there had been exhibits devoted to the production of the
eagle and double eagle as well as the failed attempt at a cent. However, those exhibits are gone and in their
place are two tables, about six feet long each, which have several drawers that
can be opened to inspect the contents.
These contain coins, medals, working plasters, drawings and more. One may open whatever drawers are of interest
and can spend quite a while examining the pieces. Also inside the gallery is a study of Victory
used in the Shaw Memorial and again, one may go right up to it to get as close
as desired. The images may make Victory
appear to be a tiny work, but it is really about four or more feet in height.
On the opposite side atrium is the Farragut Memorial. This was the first large scale commission
that Saint Gaudens had received and it was finished in 1881. The original sandstone base was replaced with
marble in 1900 and the original base now sits on display at SGNHS. This is a really large work with Farragut
standing taller than the base. We have a
series of photos of my daughters over the years sitting on the original sandstone
bench and mimicking the poses of the allegorical models. Farragut is best remembered for the Battle of
Mobile Bay where he has been stated to have exclaimed “Damn the torpedoes, full
speed ahead”. The Farragut Memorial was
unlike anything that had been previously seen in the United States and featured
the billowing coat of Farragut standing on top of a large sandstone base that
served as a bench and had itself been adorned with bas relief models and
remarkable lettering. Next to this is a
memorial to Henry Maxwell. Again, this
stands perhaps seven feet in height.
There is a remarkably and refreshingly small gift shop on the premises
and even this has works (not for sale) scattered through it.
The sun, and temperature, goes down hard and fast around
here and by 6:30 in the evening the temperature dropped about 15-degrees within
a half-hour. The first of the telescope
enthusiasts started to show up for the star party and within moments the grass
outside Aspet was dotted with Volkswagen and Subaru hatchbacks such that it
looked like a field of colorful sunflowers.
Here is our friend Pan with golden sunlight on him along with Mount
Ascutney at sunset and the first telescope of the evening.
We were here for the star party, which is a fairly new and
annual event where the SGNHS is kept open late and where the Stellafane Astronomy
Club brings out telescopes to share the night sky with the public. All the lights are turned out and it is quite
dark after sunset. We sat on the porch
of Aspet watching the sun go down and it reminded me of sitting on my
grandparents’ porch listening to old Met games on the radio. We would sit in the dark within the
screened-in porch and listen to Bob Murphy, Ralph Kiner and Lindsey Nelson narrate
the early 1970s Met games with our hopes pinned on Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman or
Jon Matlack and with our fear being that the perpetually anemic Met offense
would have to bail out the pitching. It
was easy to sit out in the night air while the sun went down and to listen to
the baseball games all summer long; I thought those times and those people would
be there forever. Alas, they are all
gone and I attempted to describe to my daughters what it was like.
The Park Rangers provided a 20-minute lecture on the sky and the importance of access to dark skies as well as the Dark Sky Initiative. We then headed over to the telescopes, perhaps eight telescopes in total, and looked through while talking to their owners. The owners were like coin people who were happy to discuss what they knew and to educate those who would like to learn. We saw Saturn up close and personal with the rings at an angle that made them easy to discern and also noticed Titan hanging out nearby. It scampered across our field of vision a number of times and had to be tracked down again. Others had their scopes trained on the globular cluster M13 and the Hercules Cluster. These clusters are reminiscent of immunofluorescence of fibroblasts. Perhaps three dozen folks were in attendance this year, which is more than there were last year. However, ours was the only non-New Hampshire, non-Vermont plate in the parking lot.
The Park Service had a great poster for sale featuring the star party, but they didn’t have many and most that they had were somewhat bent. However, I purchased all the pieces that were flat and in good shape and have given one each to my daughters as well as put a few away for friends. I have even framed one for my office and it looks spectacular. There are still a few left piled in my closet. They must be about 10 x 15 inches.
The Park Rangers provided a 20-minute lecture on the sky and the importance of access to dark skies as well as the Dark Sky Initiative. We then headed over to the telescopes, perhaps eight telescopes in total, and looked through while talking to their owners. The owners were like coin people who were happy to discuss what they knew and to educate those who would like to learn. We saw Saturn up close and personal with the rings at an angle that made them easy to discern and also noticed Titan hanging out nearby. It scampered across our field of vision a number of times and had to be tracked down again. Others had their scopes trained on the globular cluster M13 and the Hercules Cluster. These clusters are reminiscent of immunofluorescence of fibroblasts. Perhaps three dozen folks were in attendance this year, which is more than there were last year. However, ours was the only non-New Hampshire, non-Vermont plate in the parking lot.
The Park Service had a great poster for sale featuring the star party, but they didn’t have many and most that they had were somewhat bent. However, I purchased all the pieces that were flat and in good shape and have given one each to my daughters as well as put a few away for friends. I have even framed one for my office and it looks spectacular. There are still a few left piled in my closet. They must be about 10 x 15 inches.
