Raiders of the Lost Art Exhibit

Date: July 8, 2014

Raiders of the Lost Art @ Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site

During the winter of 2013-2014, Saint-Gaudens NHS engaged in a bold experiment which we called "Raiders of the Lost ART."We took an empty museum case in our visitor center and asked our online community on Facebook to help us fill it.Our fans didn't disappoint.They brainstormed ideas for a theme with us, then they selected the theme for the exhibit, and finally they selected the assemblage of museum objects to be included in the exhibit.And now, we have taken all of the objects selected and turned them into an exhibit—the very first crowdsourced exhibit in a National Park!

We are pleased to announce the opening of our new exhibit "The Hairstyle Files:

Hirsute Gentlemen and Coiffured Ladies of the Gilded Age" in the park visitor center!

The artwork of Saint-Gaudens and his assistants presents a time capsule of sorts for the styles of the Gilded Age.The term "Gilded Age" was coined to describe the opulent lifestyle adopted by the upper class in America; however, the era could have just as easily been characterized as the "Golden Age of Hair."Beautiful and complex women's up-dos and a panoply of different ways to sculpt male facial hair defines the era as much as the opulence of the upper class lifestyle.It is a tribute to the skill of sculptors like Saint-Gaudens that they were able to capture this diversity with such realism in their plaster and bronze works.

This exhibit features works by Saint-Gaudens and his contemporaries from the park's museum collection.Some of the works have never been displayed in public before.The exhibit will be displayed in the park's visitor center through October, 2014.If you would like to be part of the conversation about this and future exhibits, visit the park's Facebook page at facebook.com/SaintGaudensNPS

Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site is located off NH Route 12A, just north of the Cornish-Windsor covered bridge. The park preserves the home, studios and gardens of the famed American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens and displays the largest collection of original Saint-Gaudens artwork in the world. The park is open daily from Memorial Day weekend through October 31. For more information, contact us at [phone] x 100 or visit the park's website at www.nps.gov/saga.