Wagner statue/ contract item. Have you seen?

[bobbvc]

Just wondering how many of these from 1954 might be out there and if anyone here has seen a better condition one.

[FourStrikes]

cool item - never seen one of those...appears to be an announcement for the building of the statue?.....wonder if the one shown on the flyer is the original artist's model, or if they actually made - or were intending to make - mini versions of the statue to be used either as a giveaway (or purchase?) at the statue's unveiling, or if such an item was ever available for purchase (perhaps at a Forbes Field gift shop?).




DS

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[sphere and ash]

If I remember correctly, Hunt Auctions had a maquette of this statue several years ago.

[perezfan]

What's a "maquette"? Despite not knowing, I want one!

[Jcfowler6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maquette

mini version

[Honus Guy]

I'm the guy who bought the maquette. Actually, there are three pieces, all executed by sculptor Frank Vittor, who did the large Wagner statue that stood outside Forbes Field (and has since followed the Pirates around the city).

Two of the pieces are plastilen, a still-soft clay-like substance. They are a Wagner head and a Wagner bust. The third is plaster, a scaled down version of the final piece. It was a Mastro auction . . . uh . . . 6 or 7 years ago?

They're the highlight of my Wagner collection.

[perezfan]

Great info... thank you, Jcfowler...

Honus Guy:
You didn't happen to win the large Wagner Statue from the Bill Mastro collection, did you? That was my favorite piece in the entire auction.

Also curious as to how the soft plater busts were transported to you. Mastro made a big deal about NOT shipping them in their auction description, because they remain soft and could become mis-shapen in transit. Did you hve to pick these up in person?


Also, I am posting 4 pics... One of the incredible Maquette, one of the Mastro Statue, and two statues formerly featured in REA. The higher quality REA example is definitely a Sinamaker, but the other one probably is not (REA was indecisive in their description of it).

Would love to get my hands on any one of these, if anyone is selling/trading!

[Jcfowler6]

I took this today. Can't tell you how cool PNC Park is.

[Honus Guy]

The two soft clay pieces are of plastilen, I think it's called. Still pliable and very fragile 50-plus years after Frank Vittor created them. Shipping was not an issues when I won the auction because I live in the Chicago area and picked them up.

I nearly lost all three pieces last year. We had a house fire, and the room they were in was destroyed. They were in a showcase, so the damage from fire, smoke, water and the collapsing ceiling was limited, but they still got tossed around and broken by a cleanup crew that had no idea what they were. The plaster statue was broken in two, and there were a couple of chips as well. One of the soft models (the study of Honus' head) was broken into nine chunks. The third, the Wagner bust, was snapped in two.

I contacted a guy I know, an art restoration expert who used to be a honcho conversator at the Art Institute of Chicago. This isn't the kind of work he does, but he put me in touch with a friend who restores everything from 15th Century paintings to statues. I took the pieces to Dimitri's studio, along with several "before" photos. He looked at both carefully. "Do you think they can be saved?" He chuckled. "Oh yes." And three weeks later, he had completed the work. It was a spectacular job (and it cost more than what I paid in the auction). The soft pieces are as good as new; on the plaster version, the got it back togehter and even added a bat (which had been broken off in the years before the auction). All three are now in a new showcase, along with a program from the April, 1955, Forbes Field dedicaton of the statue and a photo of sculptor Vittor holding the plaster maquette.

[Mark]

Good to hear a happy ending. I remember walking past that statue many times when I was a young boy on the way to Forbes Field. I still pay it a visit when I go back to Pittsburgh. Thanks for helping to preserve the art.

[perezfan]

Sounds like some amazing restoration work. That's a wonderful ending to what had to be a horribly traumatic event. Glad it worked out so well