Independent Arts News Reporting 
Pictured Above: Inside the Monuments and Myths exhibition at the James A. Michener Art Museum. Photo Credit: Robert Beck.
Monuments and Myths, at the Michener
By Guest Writer, Robert Beck
Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Daniel Chester French are big names in American figurative sculpture. You can think of Lincoln in his Memorial, Sherman on his horse being led by the figure of Victory located across from the Plaza in New York, and the Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Memorial at Boston Commons. These are two artistic giants from an age stretching from Victorian to Edwardian who formed the American identity well into the present century.
A museum show combining and comparing work by Saint-Gaudens and French is currently on exhibit at the James A Michener Art Museum in Doylestown through January 5th. Monuments and Myths is the first exhibition to examine Saint-Gaudens and French as friends and contemporaries at the pinnacle of their field.
It’s interesting, in this time when historic monuments have taken on a new role in the nation’s dialogue, to see the path of creation, from back-stories to the marks of the sculptor’s hand. It’s another side of history.
This was America establishing a cultural voice as she forged her coming-of-age story, playing on an international stage. These are world-class artistic artifacts from work that has inspired sculptors ever since. Not just the pieces but also a captivating glimpse at the leading edge of the American emergence.
The number of objects isn’t overwhelming, but the impact is. There isn’t anything that doesn’t belong in this exhibition, and what’s there is extraordinary. All of it came from the Artists’ studios, which have been preserved as National historic sites. You see the steps taken, the thinking, the changes, the creation, and in many instances, the tool marks.
As an artist, I understand how all of art is, in part, personal and autobiographical. Rising from a time and culture, an organic part of the artist’s life. There is an element of celebration and the heroic that courses through the work in this show. The large pieces aren’t good because they are big; they are extraordinary AND big. Scale is just part of it. What the work pulls out of the viewer is another thing. Good art is a dialogue, and a lot of that goes on in this exhibition.
An important part of any story is how it is told, and the Michener’s curatorial staff did an outstanding job. I commend the Director of Exhibitions, Joshua Lessard, for his presentation of this show. This is the first time that this cavernous room, the largest at the museum, feels to me like the right fit for the show it contains, and it has a lot to do with the placement, the wall color, background images, and the division of space. I talked to the artist and fine woodworker Mark Sfirri about it, and he had the same impression. When Mark went through the show, he thought the end of the room came too soon. That has never happened to us before in that space. The power of the work, the considerations of the curators, and the adroit presentation designed by Josh, has resulted an effortless, engaging, and illuminating experience. This show is a real treat.
The exhibition runs through January 5th. The Michener Art Museum is open 10-5, Wednesday through Sunday, and until 8 on the first Thursday of the month. Second Sundays are free! www.michenerartmuseum.org 138 Pine Street, Doylestown, PA
Monuments and Myths, The America of Sculptors Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Daniel French is co-organized by the American Federation of Arts, Chesterwood, a site of the National Trust for Historic Presentation, and the Saint-Gaudens Memorial in partnership with the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Park. The Michener is one of four stops across the country for this exhibition.
About Guest Writer Robert Beck
Robert Beck is a representational painter and writer who grew up in Bucks County and has studios in New Hope and Manhattan. Primarily known for painting from life in active situations, with subjects focused on events and occupations of our time, his work has been presented in three in-depth solo museum exhibitions. A lecturer, radio host, and curator, Robert has been awarded the PSC Medal for Contribution to the Arts and was elected a Signature Member of the American Society of Marine Artists. He has had more than 300 art-related essays published in ICON Magazine, The West Side Rag, and Art New England. Robert attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. www.robertbeck.net
