 January/February 2001 (XXXIX 1) |
Every visitor to Friends Centers is first welcomed by the Sylvia Shaw Judson bronze sculpture of Mary Dyer. This bigger than life work has been at Friends Center since the center was dedicated in 1975. It was placed at the front steps as part of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority's Fine Arts program after the center's architect, Mather Lippincott of Media Meeting (PA), learned that it was sitting in storage.
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of her installation, Mary Dyer received a professional conservation treatment last fall for the first time since her installation. Professional conservator Virginia Naude of Norton Art Conservation supervised the treatment, which included surface cleaning, repairs to the bronze and the base and an application of a protective wax coating.
Mary Dyer was a 17th century Quaker evangelist hanged by the Puritans on Boston Common. This sculpture is one of three copies. The others are located in Boston and at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana.
Conservation work on the sculpture was made possible through the help of the Fairmount Park Art Association, which in conjunction with Friends Center received a grant from Save Outdoor Sculpture, a joint program of Heritage Preservation and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art. Works that received grants had to be of an identifiable woman and by a woman. Mary Dyer won for Pennsylvania. She is the only identifiable woman in an outdoor sculpture by a female artist in the city of Philadelphia.
Art and architectural students will have a chance to see the revitalized sculpture and to learn about art conservation as part of a rededication ceremony planned for this spring.
Peter Rittenhouse
Executive director of Friends Center Corporation
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:18 AM