Three Museum Studies students presented a two-hour walking tour of the Carol R. Brown Sculpture Garden at Hartwood Acres Park on Saturday, August 12, 2023. The tour showcased research by Fine Foundation fellows Audrey Desnain and Layne Schaffer, alongside recent museum studies graduate Samantha Wert.
Allegheny County and the Allegheny County Parks Foundation (ACPF) maintains an impressive collection of large, outdoor sculptures that were originally commissioned in the 1980s for Hartwood Acres Park. The artworks recently underwent conservation and were re-sited in 2022 as part of a new plan by Allegheny County and ACPF. Part of the plan included the first newly commissioned piece since the 1980’s.
As part of this work, the Allegheny County Parks Foundation has been working with the Office for Public Art (OPA) since 2018 to develop interpretive and educational materials on the history of the sculptures and the artists. In Spring 2023, Professor Alex Taylor and OPA Program Manager Rachel Klipa supervised an in-depth program of new research into the works in the collection by all three Pitt students who delivered the tour, culminating in two summer research fellowships held by Desnain and Schaffer and supported by the Fine Foundation.
At the tour, students presented their research on works by Ron Bennett, Fletcher Benton, Dee Briggs, Peter Forakis, Charles Ginnever, Betty Gold, Joseph Goto, Lila Katzen, Lyman Kipp, Clement Meadmore, Tillie Speyer, David von Schlegell and Jack Youngerman. The tour was introduced by Joey-Linn Ulrich, Executive Director of the Allegheny County Parks Foundation, seen above with the research team in front of von Schlegell’s monumental sculpture North Light (1982) at the park’s entry.
To learn more about the Carol R. Brown Sculpture Garden at Hartwood Acres Park visit the Allegheny County Parks Foundation website.