Mend Our Broken Art: Hermitage Museum & Gardens, Norfolk, VA

Since the creation of the Mend Our Broken Art program in 2006, over
20 works of art have been completely restored.

The following is a sample of works that were conserved as part of the
2008 MOBA exhibition:

Purchased in 1927 by Florence Sloane for placement just outside her formal rose garden, Girl Drinking From a Shell fit naturally with the Hermitage landscape. Upon completion of the last architectural addition to the Hermitage in 1936, McCartan’s fountain was moved to the South Terrace where it stood for seventy years.

Edward McCartan, a New York State artist influenced strongly by French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon, based many of his designs on nature and Greek mythology. McCartan studied in Paris at L’École des Beaux-Arts where he was mentored by Jean Antoine Injalbert. Known best for idealizing human form through his skilled craftsmanship, Edward McCartan is renowned as one of the great American artists. In 1915 he created Girl Drinking From a Shell which was originally exhibited at the Albright Art Gallery, New York in 1916.

Through donations during the 2007 and 2008 MOBA exhibitions, we raised enough money to complete the conservation of Girl Drinking from a Shell. The treatment of this life-size bronze fountain by Edward McCartan was performed on-site by Andrew Baxter of Bronze, et al Conservation Services.

Join us for the unveiling of the completely restored bronze on Tuesday, May 19th from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. The unveiling will be held in the East Garden in conjunction with the formal opening ceremony of the recently completed boardwalk.