New Book on Augustus Saint-Gaudens Puritan Statue

NPS photo

The Puritan, Springfield, Massachusetts

Date: June 27, 2011
Contact: Henry Duffy, [phone]  x112
Contact: Gregory C. Schwarz, [phone]  x107

A new book, In Homage to Worthy Ancestors: The Puritan, The Pilgrim, with contributions by leading Saint-Gaudens scholars, brings the story of two iconic American sculptures to life. Published in June, 2011, the 112 page book is extensively illustrated with both black and white and color photographs. New photography of the monuments was commissioned for this book, and historic images are included, some never published before. Meet the authors for a book signing, Friday, July 8, 2011, 5:00 P.M. There will be a special presentation to Sir Thomas R. Moore, President and Sarah Chapin Langham, Executive Director of the Laurence Levine Charitable Fund, Inc., funders of the project.

Created by sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907), the Puritan spoke to a family's pride in a "worthy ancestor" and became an emblem of the city of Springfield, and of the stalwart pioneers who settled Western Massachusetts. The Pilgrim, created later for a committee of city leaders in Philadelphia, was seen as a more general icon of the country's moral and political strength. For the artist, the demand was so great for this popular figure, that he created reduced versions of the Puritan in bronze for sale to schools, government buildings and individuals.

Edited by Professor James Atkinson, the book includes an introduction by Henry J. Duffy, Curator of the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, and essays by: Joyce Schiller, Curator, Norman Rockwell Museum (The Puritan), Henry J. Duffy (The Pilgrim), Thayer Tolles, Curator of American Sculpture, Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Reductions), and Wayne Phaneuf, Editor of the "Springfield Republican" (What the Puritan Means to Springfield – A Social History). This will be the first complete study of the Puritan and the Pilgrim ever published, and will serve as both a fascinating story and a needed academic study of an American icon.