BostonZest

Penelope Jencks Sculpture in Boston and Provincetown

We have recently returned from a trip to Provincetown where I realized that my morning walks in both that town, at the tip of Cape Cod, and Boston pass by a sculpture by Penelope Jencks.

In Ptown, I pass Dune Woman relaxing on the front lawn of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM.)

In Boston it's her bronze & granite sculpture of Samuel Eliot Morison that attracts my camera (especially in the fall) as I walk the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. 

If you like one piece by a certain artist, do some research and see what else they've done and where it's located. You might find that you can fit a visit with another piece of their art into an upcoming summer trip.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

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Where Would You Find These Neatly Folded Hands?

Let's play Attention to Detail! We give you a close-up clue and you have to figure out where you've seen it around Boston.

Here are some hints:

• The hands are on a statue of a woman that was created by a woman.
• The statue is of a Quaker and was created by a Quaker.
• It is located next to a famous building. 
• It was installed in 1959.

Ready? Click through for the answer.

Keep Watch on Our Public Art – John Glover Sword Repair

Last week Penny noticed John Glover's sword moving in the wind. 

Using a camera to take a closer look, we could see that the sword was slipping from its hilt. We sent the photo to the person at the Friends of the Public Garden who could check it and arrange a repair if needed. (Here is the contact page.)

Of course, this contact only works for the three parks where the sculpture is in the care of this organization. For artwork in other parts of the city, you should report your concerns to Boston 311.

Thanks to the many people who have donated to the Henry Lee Conservation Fund through the Friends. The public art on the Boston Common, Boston Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue Mall have a very dedicated Collections Manager in Sara Hutt. 

She had the conservators from Daedalus, Inc. out working on a repair quickly. Here they were assessing the damage, photographing it, and checking in with other members of the team to decide how to approach the restoration.

And, here is the restored sword in its proper position.

Related Post:

Celebrate Patriot John Glover on His Birthday

 

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

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Make Way for Ducklings: The Art of Robert McCloskey at the MFA!

Our Monday Post, "No Way for Ducklings" reminded us to tell you about the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) current exhibition "Make Way for Ducklings The Art of Robert McCloskey."

The MFA says:

"With art from Make Way for Ducklings at its center, the retrospective presents more than 50 works, including studies for other books written and illustrated by McCloskey: Lentil (1940), Homer Price (1943) and Centerburg Tales (1951), which recall his youth in rural Ohio, and popular Maine tales including Blueberries for Sal (1948) and Time of Wonder (1957). Works are drawn primarily from the rich, but rarely exhibited holdings of the May Massee Collection at Emporia State University in Kansas.

"An exhibition highlight is the miniature bronze model for Nancy Schön’s Make Way for Ducklings sculpture, commissioned for the Boston Public Garden in 1985. As well as celebrating McCloskey’s achievements as author-illustrator, the retrospective also includes a selection of his independent work connecting him to prominent American painters such as Thomas Hart Benton and Edward Hopper."

Sounds like a good reason for a visit to the MFA!

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

Who Are the Men Depicted in These Profiles on Boston's Statue of Alexander Hamilton?

You may have walked by the statue of Alexander Hamilton on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall dozens of times. Did you ever wonder who the three men are in the bas-relief profile on the base? 

According to the Smithsonian Museum's database of outdoor sculpture, they are (from right to left) George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.

Here are a few tidbits you may not know about this statue of Alexander Hamilton.

• This sculpture has been located between Arlington and Berkeley Streets on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall since 1865. 
• It's one of the few surviving works by Dr. William Rimmer, whose father claimed to be Louis XVII, heir to the French throne. 
• In the book, A Guide to Public Art in Greater Boston, Marty Carlock says Rimmer's interest in anatomy led him to a career in medicine which he practiced for a few years. Rimmer became a full-time sculptor at age forty-five.

• This is the only sculpture carved from stone on the Mall. Since Rimmer was self-taught, he used his own technique to create it. According to Public Art Boston, this technique makes the sculpture "particularly fragile and difficult to maintain."
• The Friends of the Public Garden have taken on the responsibility for restoring and then providing annual maintenance of the artwork in The Boston Common, Boston Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue Mall.
• To help The Friends pay for this work, you can contribute to the Henry Lee Conservation Fund.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2008-2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

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Fenway Studios 2016 Open Studios Is This Weekend, November 12th & 13th

You are invited behind these historic doors this weekend to visit a fabulous example of purpose-built architecture and a fascinating community of artists that make up Fenway Studios.

It is an event we look forward to each year. Rather than trying to visit each floor and each artist, we try to spend some quality time with just a few and then a few different artists the next year.

Here is a list of the artists who will be taking part in this year's event. And, with the event coming just before Thanksgiving, this community is asking visitors to help the larger community. They say, 

"The Open Studios committee also uses this event as an opportunity to solicit donations to the Greater Boston Food Bank. Visitors are asked to bring a non-perishable food item, which the artists then deliver to GBFB. 
Click here to find out more about the GBFB’s most needed items."

 

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

Sunrise Spotlights the Architecture: Today In Boston!

Each morning the angle of the sun points out a different building or architectural detail with its selective spotlight.  

"I like that time is marked by each sunrise and sunset whether or not you actually see it." Catherine Opie (Fine art photographer)

About Today in Boston: We keep hearing that people miss our cover photos that ran for years in the Back Bay Sun. That assignment was to provide a photo that showed what the week was like in the neighborhood. Often the photos illustrated favorite quotations. Today in Boston is an occasional offering to our BostonZest readers featuring photos along the same theme but taken wherever we happen to be.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2016 Penny Cherubino  

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