-- On behalf of our group, I just wanted to write and thank
everyone at the foundry
for the amazing tour. The tour totally exceeded our
expectations. Thank you (Jeffrey)
for giving us so much of your time that morning.
Airing on CBS Television, “Let’s Take A Trip” was described
as an informational workshop for children. Host Sonny Fox, along with young
Joan and Jimmy, would travel each week to places of interest and take a tour of
the facilities. Their tour would be filmed, and on October 27, 1957 the location selected was
Modern Art Foundry. The week before “Let’s Take A Trip” was at sculptor's
Jacques Lipchitz studio and now they wanted to learn how his plaster sculpture
was cast in bronze. This was the early days of black and white television and
to the best of our knowledge the first, and for some time the only, start to
finish filmed production of the process of lost wax casting at Modern Art
Foundry. It is a gem to watch and a true document of history, featuring scenes
with first and second-generation owners John and Bob Spring .
Forty one years later, The Augustus Saint-Gaudens Foundation
filmed and produced “Wax Blood, Bronze Skin” in 1998. A detailed taping
following the replication of the Admiral
Farragut Monument
for the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Trust in Cornish, New Hampshire .
In 2009, The Gaston Lachaise Foundation released "Flesh
in Ecstasy". Filmed and directed by
George Stoney and David Bagnall, and narrated by Stanley Tucci, the film is a
presentation of the many letters written by Gaston to Isabel Dutaud Nagle with
Modern Art Foundry’s casting of the "Standing Woman" as part of the
set. This cast of "Standing Woman" is now on loan and installed in
the Jardin
des Tuileries, Paris France . In
addition, the film includes a detailed review of the lost wax casting process
with a voice over explanation from Jeffrey
Spring , current president
of the foundry.
The celebrated “Antique Roadshow” taped
a brief review at Modern Art Foundry for their series “Antique Roadshow FYI”,
launched in 2005, which supplemented the PBS appraisal show, explaining how
items seen on their show were manufactured.
Through our Educational Services,
tours of Modern Art Foundry continue for interested groups seeking information
and education in the process of casting art. The dynamic, detailed, and
dramatic steps of the lost wax casting process are often beyond what the
visitor is expecting, and enlightening, in that it is almost always much more
than anticipated.
It’s a foundry tradition.
Learn more at: www.modernartfoundry.com
-- What an amazing experience we had two weeks ago!
Everyone is still talking about being on our most enriching
tour at the foundry.
It was something that we will never forget.
Modern Art Foundry
18-70 41st Street
Astoria, NY
718-728-2030
Modern Art Foundry
18-70 41st Street
Astoria, NY
718-728-2030
- Photo credits on file.