Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Frederick Law Olmstead


Olmstead -- the landscape designer of New York's Central Park -- was from Hartford.  In the 1860s, he designed the landscape at the Institute of Living, a mental health center in Hartford, where this bust is located.


The work is by Bruno Lucchesi, who did the Lincoln - Stowe statue I showed two weeks ago.


31 comments:

Bruce Clark said...

I really like the details in the closeup of the bust. It would make a great black and white photo.

Cezar and Léia said...

The Lincoln statue is beautiful and your pictures are great.I like the perfect close up in the first one!And so beautiful sunny day as well! :)
Hugs
Léia

PerthDailyPhoto said...

The close up is fantastic Jack. What a fabulous sculpture, such a craggy strong face not to mention the magnificent mustache and beard.So he designed the original gardens in Central Park, impressive!!

brattcat said...

I'm a great fan of Olmstead and his transformation of space.

VP said...

Great man and a very beautiful work. I really like your first picture of it!

Mo said...

Love theat first picture

Kate said...

I like the close-up as everyone else seems to do, too. I like that technique a lot. Adding the small picture of the bust reinforces the idea of close-up to get the full benefit of the sculpture's details.

Kate said...

PS. I have a similar set of photos like that scheduled for the 14th. I just might try B&W for later photos that I have planned as Bruce (above) suggested.

Karl said...

Beautiful closeup of the bust, Jack.

Regina K said...

I am with the majority, I like the close up, so much character shows through in this photo, something one would miss just looking at the entire bust.

Malyss said...

I'm definitively a great fan of Mr Lucchesi! I liked the Lincoln statue, I also like this one!What a strength in this face!Your first picture is a wonderful tribute to the artist and to his model!

joo said...

I like both photos - superb statue and lovely shots!

Sharon said...

Is the landscape here as grand as his Central Park project?

Jack said...

There are many big and impressive and unusual trees on the grounds, but the maintenance over the years has been sub-par.

Luis Gomez said...

Jack great shots. Wonderful details.

Sylvia K said...

What a fantastic statue! The detail is amazing! Your captures are superb, Jack! Interesting post as always! I've always wanted to visit Connecticut and your posts are the next best thing! Enjoy your day!

Sylvia

Randy said...

I have to agree with the majority. The full bust is nice too.

cieldequimper said...

The first shot is so striking, I'm so glad you're showing a close-up, the sculpure is superb.

jennyfreckles said...

He looks like a relative of Sir Titus Salt with that magnificent beard.

Lois said...

There are some fantastic details in that sculpture Jack. It's beautiful!

RedPat said...

I am with everyone on this - the detail shot ids fabulous!

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

1. I am glad that you are off the ladders today
2. Wonderful stone portrait and supporting view
3. Sounds like working on the grounds would be perfect for a volunteer job.... Beuller? Anyone?

Bises,
Genie

Cildemer said...

Wonderful work of art and your shots are fabulous!
Fantastic detail in the close up!
Thanks for sharing, Jack;o)

***
Hope you are having a nice and happy week****

Dianne said...

A very dramatic face - and love the macro shot!

Cindy said...

I love the intensity of the face in the sculpture. Olmstead designed many parks around Boston as well. A great sculpture of a great visionary.

Michelle said...

I also think it would look good in b/w. Nice close up.

Dawn said...

That close up is wonderful.
(It's wonderful here....but would not be of the couple of which I posted of;))

Halcyon said...

I couldn't post my comment yesterday. Some kind of problem with Blogger.
In any case, I prefer the first shot. The up close shot shows all of the detail of the sculpture. It's pretty amazing actually. I wonder how many people actually look at these works so carefully.

Unknown said...

The top shot is absolutely fantastic! Love it, Jack.

Suzanne said...

I really like the work of Olmstead, so creative and lasting.

raymond said...

The photos are very nice and Frederick Law Olmsted was a great man, but this depiction of Olmsted by Bruno Lucchesi is really bad. It does not even look like the man in the few photos we have of him. Too bad he deserves better.