The Hollycroft Foundation: History


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The History of The Hollycroft Foundation

The Hollycroft Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization created in 1991 with IRS status granted the following year. Its financial support depends entirely on income from consultancies, occasional grants, donations, and art-related projects. Hollycroft's by-laws state that its paramount purpose is to "promote awareness of the influence and importance of the arts in [the general public's] daily lives."

The Hollycroft Foundation began quietly in 1991 in the Connecticut village of Ivoryton with a project for the Archives of American Art (Smithsonian Institution): the cataloguing of the valuable archive of the internationally renowned cultural magazine theARTgallery. The magazine which was published at Ivoryton for 26 years ceased publication in 1983. The deed of gift was executed in 1992 and was funded by a long term grant from the government of Kuwait.

As art and cultural pursuits have more recently lost broad support from corporations, even Congress has become hesitant to support many worthy ongoing programs, and non-profit organizations are now being forced to become more vocal and publicly evident in order to survive. The Hollycroft Foundation is striving for greater visibility to fulfill its charter from the State of Connecticut, which aptly states that it is "committed to developing a public awareness of cultural programs."

At the Archives of American Art (Smithsonian Institution) in 1992, Hollycroft President William C. Bendig, far left, former Archives Director (NY) Stephen Polcari, Kuwait's UN Ambassador Abulhasan and Hollycroft Trustee Dr. Ali al-Tarrah surround some archival boxes and the deed of gift to the Smithsonian.

"The Tennis Players," a life-sized bronze by popular realist J. Seward Johnson, Jr. , was sited from November '97 until the following June next to the Town Hall of Clinton, Connecticut as a part of the Foundation's community awareness program.

The Foundation was first publicized by a modest exhibition of books drawn from the research library under its care. This hometown show, held at the Essex Public Library, was soon followed by a photographic presentation at Washington's Pentagon and then the more ambitious all-Connecticut "Hollycroft Invitational" sculpture exhibition of 1994.

The "Invitational" was catapulted to major importance in 1995 by the inclusion of a number of internationally acclaimed artists from outside Connecticut. In 1996, the newly titled "Hollycroft International" included artists from abroad as well as throughout America. That exhibition honored the 16th International Sculpture Conference held at the Rhode Island School of Design when conferees came from Providence to enjoy the 120 works drawn from nine states and three countries.

The media has been especially kind. Since 1996 over sixty newspapers, from the Seattle Times and Boston Globe to the Wall Street Journal and Paris' International Herald Tribune have printed generous words, critiques and even cartoons. ABC, CBS and NBC television networks aired newsclips, plus three nationwide exposures, including Good Morning America.

Though sculpture may be its most visible claim to fame, lectures by Trustees have been presented as far afield as Wichita, Kansas and Washington's National Gallery. Numerous consultancies range from the Foundation's home state to twenty-one other states. Under Foundation care, the 6,000-volume Bendig Art Research Library is seeking permanent housing and computerized cataloguing.

Another significant project, in cooperation with the Nautilus Museum, Naval Submarine League and the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, was a multi-disciplinary teaching guide based on submarines and submersibles. The guide, which includes subject matter from art, language and ecology to mathematics, navigation and the sciences, has yet to be adapted for internet use.

The press has helped spread the Foundation's fame from the Paris Herald Tribune to a series of cartoons by Bill Griffith. Here, Zippy interacts with Howard Kalish's "Knot," which is now on display in Middletown.

The organization's spectrum of interest is indeed broad. Though it ranges from educational programs to promoting generational interaction through the use of the plastic arts, each program is closely related to strictly cultural pursuits.

Current projects include a series of studio and exhibition visits within a four-state radius. A long-term goal is a sculpture tour abroad under the leadership of Trustee Olivier Bernier, famed for his lectures and stimulating tours around the world for New York's Metropolitan Museum. Mr. Bernier delivered the Hollycroft Lecture at Madison for the 2005-06 season.

As the original literary and art-related materials from the archive of theARTgallery magazine remain in the Foundation's possession, it is proposed that an exhibition in conjunction with the periodical's 50th anniversary be mounted in 2007. This exhibition, which includes original art works, would give irrefutable authenticity to the burgeoning nostalgia for the international art scene of the 60s through 80s.

The Foundation has been responsible for organizing and curating a score of outdoor sculpture exhibitions in twenty Connecticut cities, towns and villages. The most outstanding have been those titled THE SCULPTURE MILE at Ivoryton, Madison, Middletown and West Haven, where a total of over 600 works have been exhibited in public space since 1997.

The extraordinary "living museum" aspect of the Foundation's programs is unique to Connecticut. This exhibition approach has inspired several communities in the eastern United States to implement similar, smaller efforts. The Foundation has been approached by other communities, and it is hoped that Hollycroft can further expand its programs and thus benefit others by fostering a greater public awareness and appreciation of the importance of art in daily life.

Viewers were captivated by Hugh Russell's "floating" steel "Ground State III" in the 1996 Hollycroft International.

Some of the world's best known sculptors have been represented by over 300 works installed since 1994. Nearly half of the thousands of visitors attending the exhibitions come from the New York metropolitan area. In addition there have been scores of docent-conducted tours for more than 5,000 school children during the past dozen years.

The Hollycroft Foundation does not have an endowment and seeks private donations, grants, and corporate sponsorship to help continue its programs. As a non-profit organization, contributions to Hollycroft are tax deductible.

The Year-Round Exhibition: THE SCULPTURE MILE

Six years ago the organizer of THE SCULPTURE MILE was escorted through downtown Madison by community enthusiast J. Sanford Davis, who pointed out that the town was devoid of any public sculpture except for the half dozen works he had placed on his own property. The only other sculpture in the town's center were two cast heads on the facade of the Scranton Library.

One of the more popular works in the 2002-2003 Madison exhibition was Philip Grausman's twelve-foot fiberglass "Victoria." The work has since been featured in the New York Times and sited in major venues.

Installing sculpture would give purpose to the parks and walkways and change the center of the town, but few communities the size of Madison can afford to take on the cost of permanent installation of outdoor sculpture on such a scale. Prohibitive expense aside, selection would be an ever-present controversey.

Madison presented an opportunity for a long term program that would fulfill the Foundation's misson as outlined in its State charter: "to develop a public awareness of cultural values through education. Dedicated to affirming that design and the arts influence every facet of our daily lives."

Many property owners enthusiastically made sites available and the first full-fledged exhibition covered the entire planned mile in the center of the town with 66 works. The year-round "Living Museum" was so born, and Madison was truly an ideal birthplace. Without cost to taxpayers, citizens and visitors could enjoy contemporary art by professional sculptors, and those artists, in turn, would have the opportunity to exhibit in the appropriate surroundings for at least a full year.

Currently there are 34 works on exhibit in the center of Madison and 44 works along the Main Street of Middletown. These exhibitions run year-round and are "refreshed" annually, with nearly half the sculptures replaced each June. The Trustees of the Foundation are proud that THE SCULPTURE MILE has, in recent years, inspired a score of similar sculpture exhibitions in public spaces across the nation, thus justifying its slogan "America's Premier Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition."

Although other communities across the nation have introduced similar exhibits, few are so long term and none are as extensive. From the beginning, the MILEs have been art adventures, often challenging and always evoking the stimulation that important art deserves. They have proven that art, through its influence, can enhance everyday living.

Enthusiastic friends join Foundation President at Sculpture Sunday in 2002, marking Hollycroft's 10th anniversary. From left, former legislators Peter Metz and William A. Aniskovich; Madison First Selectman Tom Scarpati; President Bendig; and New Alliance Vice President Paul McCraven.