SOUTH DEERFIELD — The statue of the Civil War soldier taken from atop a 150-year-old monument on the Old Deerfield Common watched its first Selectboard meeting Wednesday from its new home in the town offices.
After being removed from outdoors last year because of structural instability — to the point conservators feared it would topple — it had been secured in a protective wooden case and housed temporarily inside the Deerfield Teachers Center Hall. On Wednesday, workers moved the statue into the office building on Conway Street and removed the wooden frame.
Thursday afternoon, Francis Miller, owner of Conserve ART LLC and a conservator who has been involved in the process since the start, was putting final cosmetic touch-ups on the statue.
“It’s amazing it was still standing, really is amazing,” Miller said about why the statue was taken down in the first place, adding that “it would have been awful” if the statue, in the condition it was in, had fallen.
Miller explained that parts of the base were so degraded he could rub away sandstone with a finger. He also said a large section of the right leg was almost entirely separated from the torso, and the bottom of the soldier’s rifle had fallen off and was never found.
To stabilize the statue, Miller secured cracks in the sandstone by injecting epoxy resin, in addition to drilling holes and inserting metal rods, two of which extend from the base into its torso, another two that hold the base together. He said that, while the statue is now solid, and isn’t in danger of falling apart, it’s still not in good enough condition to be kept outside.
“It’s a beautiful monument, and it’s nice to see the sculpture at eye level,” he said while taking a break from meticulously applying sandstone dust into cracks, hiding the orange epoxy resin. “It really captures the weariness. It was an early monument — ’67 I believe — two years after the war.”
Now, instead of craning their necks to catch a peek at the old soldier atop the 29-foot-tall monument on the common, visitors can now stare into the soldier’s stony eyes, take in its rough texture and imagine the tragedy that inspired such a figure to be carved in the first place.
When the statue was first removed from its plinth, Miller continued, there was some discussion about whether or not to restore it completely and remove the cracks altogether. Ultimately, however, he said it was decided to leave the weathered look in order to preserve the statue’s character.
As far as final location is concerned, the Historical Commission decided the town office was the best location for the statue, partly because of its close proximity to local public schools. The board felt it would give students an opportunity to engage in and experience some of the town’s history.
John Nove, historical commission chairman, said after receiving final cosmetic repairs, the statue will be enclosed for safekeeping in an acrylic case, built by SmallCorp (which was awarded the display contract case earlier this summer).
Besides overlooking governmental proceedings, the statue now stands guard in front of a historic display case containing Paleolithic artifacts, gifted to the town by Deerfield Academy.
You can reach Andy Castillo
at: acastillo@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 263
On Twitter: @AndyCCastillo