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News Release On a Grand Scale: The Hall of Architecture at 100 The Heinz Architectural Center at Carnegie Museum of Art takes a look at Andrew Carnegie’s majestic cast collection in honor of its 100th birthday September 4, 2007 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania…In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Carnegie Museum of Art’s extraordinary Hall of Architecture, the museum’s Heinz Architectural Center will present On a Grand Scale: The Hall of Architecture at 100, on view September 22, 2007–January 27, 2008 in the Center’s galleries. The exhibition will investigate how this historically significant collection came to be, explain the processes of cast making and restoration, and examine the reasons for collecting architectural casts. Approximately 150 objects, including architectural drawings, period photographs, an antique mold from which casts were made, catalogues, books, correspondence, and a cast making slide show will help to illuminate the story of the largest surviving cast collection in the Western hemisphere. After spending time in the exhibition, visitors can experience firsthand the more than 140 plaster casts of architectural masterpieces housed in the Hall of Architecture. The magisterial space was specially designed by the architectural firm of Alden & Harlow to accommodate the casts, and remains virtually unchanged from when it opened in 1907. On a Grand Scale launches the Hall of Architecture Centennial Initiative, a long-term strategy for adding interpretive materials in the Hall of Architecture and for the care and preservation of the cast collection for future generations. One of Andrew Carnegie’s philanthropic goals was to help the working-class people in Pittsburgh to better their lives through self-education. With the installation of the plaster casts in the Hall of Architecture, Carnegie brought the world’s architectural masterpieces to Pittsburgh where everyone, not just those who could afford to travel, could learn from them about art and culture. “This great hall has no less appeal than it had 100 years ago, when it first served as a window to parts of the world few would ever see,” said David Hillenbrand, president and CEO of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. “You might say that this room and its neighboring hall, the Hall of Sculpture, best embody Andrew Carnegie’s desire to bring the world to the people of Pittsburgh—then and now. He knew that many people would never leave their neighborhoods, their city, their region. And man-made wonders such as these really must be seen.” In the late 1800s, American museums developed in response to Europe’s great national collections. Because funding and availability were limited for acquiring substantial quantities of original art, museums used plaster cast reproductions to fill their galleries. By the 1920s, museum trends shifted from collecting reproductions to acquiring original works of art. Cast collections fell out of fashion, and most large collections were sold, moved to storage, or destroyed. Carnegie Museum of Art, however, held onto its casts. Today the works in the collection not only perform the same educational and cultural duties they were intended to 100 years ago, but also they have developed new significance—representing many original works that have degraded over the decades or have been destroyed. Planning the Collection A variety of objects offering information about the creation of the museum’s cast collection are part of a planning section within On a Grand Scale. Archival materials document Carnegie’s research trips to view other cast collections in the United States. “The level that Andrew Carnegie had personally invested in the planning of the Hall of Architecture is noteworthy,” says exhibition organizer Mattie Schloetzer. “As Carnegie’s philanthropic projects increased, his ability to be involved in each of them decreased.” Photographs reveal plaster cast presentations at the World's Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893, and the studios where casts were created. Cast sales catalogues offer information about dimensions and costs, as well as the appearance of casts. A plan drawing of the Hall of Architecture reveals the original placement of the casts, the companies that manufactured them, and their costs. Carnegie, W. R. Frew, president of the Carnegie Library Commission, and Carnegie Museum of Art’s first director John Beatty took several trips while planning the cast collection. A letter from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s director Luigi Palma di Cesnola to Frew, documents the refusal of Frew’s request to create casts from the Met’s molds, thus making it necessary for the museum to purchase casts from European makers. The result was that the acquisition process was labor intensive and costly. But in the end, this tailor-made approach with an emphasis on architecture distinguished Carnegie Museum of Art’s cast collection from all other collections in the U.S. Exhibition Highlights The façade of St. Gilles dominates the Hall of Architecture and indeed was one of five key pieces that Carnegie’s staff worked to secure for the collection. Other key pieces include the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens, Greece; the Well of Moses in Dijon, France; the north transept portal of the Cathedral of St. Andre at Bordeaux; and the Tomb of Francois II, Duke of Brittany, and his wife Marguerite de Foix, in Nantes Cathedral, Nantes, France. Examples of all five casts were exhibited in museum cast collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. On a Grand Scale will also spotlight the continued importance of plaster casting in contemporary art. Rachel Whiteread, a contemporary British artist, is known for her inverted castings of architectural elements and everyday objects. Whiteread’s Untitled (Domestic), 2002, a recent acquisition of Carnegie Museum of Art, is currently on view in the Hall of Sculpture. Unlike the casts in the Hall of Architecture that represent objects, Whiteread’s casts capture the space within and around an object. Untitled (Domestic), 2002, was cast from an interior staircase in the Haunch of Venison, a London-based gallery located in the three-story, 18th-century building that was once the home of Admiral Lord Nelson. Practicing an age-old technique in a new and unconventional way, Whiteread’s works reveal how the body relates to objects in space, inform us about everyday architecture, and demonstrate the significance of plaster casting in art today. American contemporary photographer Catherine Opie’s large-scale triptych Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, 2007, will also be featured as part of the exhibition. The work is part of Pittsburgh (American Cities), the most recent installment of anongoing series of photographs in which the artist documents the architecture and landscape of various cities. Opie’s work affirms the lasting value of the Hall of Architecture in the eyes the public. Using the Collection The Hall of Architecture continues to provide opportunities for close examination and comparison of an eclectic assembly of period-quality architectural and sculptural objects. Today elementary, high school, and college and university students continue to use the Hall of Architecture for uniquely instructive drawing opportunities. A free Hall of Architecture gallery guide for children will excite learning about architecture and ancient cultures, while offering the opportunity for drawing and solving puzzles. Programs Support Support for the Hall of Architecture Centennial Initiative was provided by The Heinz Endowments. The gallery guide to the Hall of Architecture is supported with funds from the American Architectural Foundation’s Accent on Architecture Community Grants program. Photos are available on Carnegie Museum of Art’s media photo website. Contact the communications office at 412.688.8690 or email stitelert@carnegiemuseums.org for the access code. Carnegie Museum of Art Contact:
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