Cornish, NH:Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, a national park for the arts, opens for the season on Saturday, May 23, and will be open daily, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through October 31. The site features the studios, home, gardens, and artwork of Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907), one of America's greatest sculptors.
Over 100 of Saint-Gaudens's sculptures on the grounds and in the galleries, from heroic public monuments like the Shaw Memorial, to expressive portrait reliefs, and the 1907 Twenty-dollar gold piece, considered America's most beautiful coin. Saint-Gaudens's home "Aspet" contains its original family furnishings, and guided tours of the house and galleries are given throughout the day. The 190-acre park also includes formal gardens and woodland nature trails. Visitors can also enjoy summer concerts every Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. from June 28 through August 30. The concerts include a range of music from Irish and classical to opera and Dixieland jazz.
The park has a free iPhone and Android app, available to download from the iTunes and Google stores.The Saint-Gaudens app includes audio tours of the park's historic buildings, images and information about Saint-Gaudens's artwork, and a guide to the trail system.
Each year the park has a sculptor-in-residence throughout the season, demonstrating figurative sculptural techniques. The 2015 Sculptor-in-Residence, Cliff Page, will teach a series of sculpture workshops on Saturdays, ranging from introductory classes in figurative sculpture to sculpting life size portrait heads.
On Memorial Day, Monday, May 25 at 2:00, the park will present a special illustrated program on Civil War General John Logan. General Logan was the creator of Memorial Day and Augustus Saint-Gaudens sculpted a stirring public monument to Logan in Chicago.
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site is located off NH Route 12A just north of the Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge. Admission is $7.00 per person;children ages 15 and younger are admitted free. As a Federal Fee Area, the America the Beautiful, annual, senior, and access passes are honored. For further information on seasonal offerings, contact Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, 139 Saint-Gaudens Road, Cornish, NH, 03745, telephone (603) 675-2175, or visit the park web site at:www.nps.gov/saga, and join us on Facebookat www.facebook.com/SaintGaudensNPS.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
