Arts & Cultural Alliance (ACA) board chair Susan Woythaler told attendees she was glad to be back around a fire for the organization’s Arts Around the Fire. The series started years ago in front of a fireplace at the Clarke Cooke House and was hosted by Sardella’s Italian Restaurant on November 20. The monthly gatherings are an opportunity for artists and art lovers to mingle and network and hear about upcoming events and projects. No reservations are needed and all are welcome.
Harle Tinney who has served on ACA’s board since 2013, introduced the evening’s speaker, Federico Santi who is chair of the city’s Public Sculpture Commission. “Rico is an antiques dealer, if you love art and antiques check out his store The Drawing Room on Spring Street” lauded Mrs. Tinney who also mentioned two other prestigious members of the Public Sculpture Commission in attendance: Paul Miller and Paul Szapáry.
Mr. Santi said the commission formed about a year ago but the concept for it dates back 20 years. He shared information on one of the commission’s initiatives – the preservation of the Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Memorial Fountain. The Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Memorial Fountain is in Vanderbilt Park, a pocket park on Broadway in front of the First Presbyterian Church (across from where Dunkin Donuts used to be, for all you Newporters.)
When a German U-boat torpedoed the RMS Lusitania off the coast of Kinsale, Ireland (Newport’s sister city) in 1915, Mr. Vanderbilt was one of its passengers. His closest friends got together to create a memorial to him. Mr. Santi said they decided on a horse trough because Mr. Vanderbilt was keen on horses and coaching. When the memorial fountain was installed, horses drank from the trough on the street and there was a bubbler on the monument’s other side for people. As more people upgraded to cars and began parking on Broadway, the memorial was bumped and started to become damaged. City officials moved it off the street to the back of the park. The water was disconnected and the holes were plugged with concrete. Over the years, rain water has seeped into the fountain and cracked its bowl which is made of red RI granite.
Vanderbilt descendent, Paul Szapáry, described Alfred as “quite a guy, aside from Gloria, he was the biggest star in the Vanderbilt family, very handsome, dashing, and the father of coaching in America.” Mr. Szapáry went on to say that Mr. Vanderbilt started the nostalgia for coaching once it was not the main mode of transportation. Gasps were heard when Mr. Szapáry told attendees that Mr. Vanderbilt could not swim but was quite heroic on the Lusitania giving his own life jacket to a female passenger.
“The memorial is really worth salvaging and putting somewhere where more people could see it” enthused Mr. Szapáry. He revealed the group has a possible location that they will present to the Newport City Council. Mr. Szapáry added there are a lot of statues around town that no one pays attention to so the commission is hoping to use a QR code to raise awareness of them and money to care for them.
When an attendee asked how much it will cost to repair the Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Memorial Fountain, Paul Miller responded “roughly $99,000.” Mr. Miller explained there were 11 fountains in Newport originally with three in Washington Square and others in Touro Park and King Park but most have been destroyed or only fragments remain. The Public Sculpture Commission is working to create an inventory of what remains with the help of local conservation organizations. They will also guide new projects in the future to make sure monuments are stylistically appropriate.
The Arts & Cultural Alliance will hold its next meeting in January. Each month a different artist or group presents information. Find out more at newportarts.org.
📸 Colleen McGrath
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