Plaster Cast Collection
Introduction
 A generous gift of 19 plaster casts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2004 has given us a new and welcome opportunity to assemble a group of talented and motivated students to create a brochure, design a website, and prepare the casts for exhibition on campus. These 12 students have been remarkable for their many specialized skills and their willingness and determination to see this project through to its completion.
The casts in this gift are mostly representative of sculpture from the Parthenon, including examples from the frieze, metopes, and pedimental figures. Additional casts of well known sculptures from the periods preceding and following the Parthenon and High Classical period provide a visual continuity. Such a resource for students at Fairfield is truly exceptional and our goal is ensure that these casts are cleaned and restored for regular public viewing. We have also received two plaster casts from Yale University and one from a private donor. Altogether, 22 casts have been given to us, in addition to 37 casts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art which came to us on a long-term renewable loan basis starting in 1991.
This semester these students began a journey to learn about the origin of plaster cast collections starting with Francis I of France in the 16th century. Subsequent interest and demand grew beyond royal collections to museums and universities throughout Europe. U.S. cast collections began in the 19th century, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art's distinguished collection representing the most famous or important works from Antiquity through the Renaissance. Initially desired for educational purposes, plaster casts fell out of favor both in Europe and the U.S. in the first half of the 20th century.
Since the 1970s the Metropolitan Museum of Art has successfully lent much of their collection to universities in the U.S., including Fairfield University, and abroad. This recent gift of casts both deepens our collection and offers many new opportunities for teaching and research. The gift is timely for the popularity of casts is growing again in the internationally arena, and our collection at Fairfield is the subject of inquiry by colleagues and specialists elsewhere in the U.S. and in Europe.
The students' journey has also taken them to visit other cast collections, such as the Slater Museum in Norwich, Conn., and the Institute for Classical Architecture and Classical America in New York City. Terese Robb, a sculptor/restorer, has worked with the students in the cast rooms, and she has provided helpful advice along the way. As a result, these students are experts on the collection and its importance within the larger phenomenon of cast collections. The culmination of their hard work will be a lasting contribution to future students and the University community, all of whom will be able to enjoy this collection.
It is also a pleasure to acknowledge in this space the 12 students: Lindsey Ault-Authier, Kimberly Buonassisi, Elizabeth Carveth, Ashleigh Gorst, Molly Kuhns, Tara Lynch, Kathleen Maloney, Robyn Raber, Alexandra Ropiak, Nazia Sultan, Alison Valdner, and Barbara Wanamaker. Many individuals made it possible for us to have this gift of plaster casts at Fairfield, including Dr. Elizabeth Milleker (MMA), and from Fairfield University: Dr. Orin Grossman, Dr. Timothy Law Snyder, Dr. Mary Frances Malone, Dr. Marti LoMonaco (former Chair), Dr. Jesús Escobar (current Chair), Mr. Charles De Angelis, and Mr. Jeffrey Simon.
Katherine A. Schwab, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Director, Art History Program,
Department of Visual and Performing Arts
Curator, MMA Cast Collection
kaschwab@mail.fairfield.edu
May 2006 |
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