Displaying items by tag: augustus saint gaudens

A symbol of the Philadelphia Museum of Art is once again looking radiant in bright shiny gold after a yearlong restoration.

It's the 13-foot-tall sculpture of the Roman goddess Diana in an archer's pose, ready to fire her arrow.

The sculpture has long held a place of prominence and honor in the museum's central hall.

The work by Augustus Saint-Gaudens (gaw-DEHNS') originally crowned an early venue for New York's Madison Square Garden, where it served as a weather vane starting in 1893.

After that building was demolished in 1925, the sculpture was put in storage — its gilded surface severely worn down by the elements. The museum acquired it in 1932.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art will regild the thirteen-foot sculpture Diana (1892-94), which resides in the its Great Stair Hall. The work, which is by the Beaux-Arts sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907), once sat atop Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The undertaking was made possible by a grant from Bank of America through its Global Art Conservation Project and will be helmed by the institution’s Conservation Department and the department of American Art. The regilding is expected to take four months to complete. and will require corrosion removal, surface preparation and the laying of 180 square feet of gold leaf. This process will be followed by any adjustments necessary to improve the appearance and lighting of the sculpture. The work was significantly eroded while on view at Madison Square Garden and cleaning and repair efforts that took place before the sculpture was installed in 1932 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art added to the damage.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art will document each step of the conservation and regilding process so that the public can monitor Diana’s progress.