“LEUCANTHA”: Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton has been awarded $40,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) in support of the restoration of Philip Grausman’s popular sculpture.

Grounds For Sculpture (GFS), the 42-acre sculpture park in Hamilton, recently announced it has been awarded $40,000 in funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) in support of the restoration of Philip Grausman’s sculpture Leucantha. The sculpture was recently deinstalled and will now undergo a year-long conservation project at Johnson Atelier, a fabricator and restorer, which joined GFS’ operations last year. Johnson Atelier is well positioned to execute this project for the sculpture park, since it worked directly with Grausman on a previous conservation engagement for Leucantha in 2007.

The NEA activities funded through GAP enable Americans throughout the nation to experience the arts, foster and celebrate America’s artistic heritage and cultural legacy, and benefit from arts education at all stages of life. This aligns with GFS’ mission to combine art and beckoning spaces to welcome, surprise, and engage all visitors in the artist’s act of invention.

Acquired for the collection in 1997, Leucantha is a defining example of Grausman’s celebrated figurative style. Familiar to many, this popular work is a monumental-scale aluminum sculpture mounted in Rat’s Pond, a space accessible to sculpture park guests, and diners at Rat’s Restaurant, which abuts the pond. This figurative sculpture marks a pivotal moment in Grausman’s artistic evolution: it was the first of his monumental portraits to be cast in metal, a decision that transformed both his process and the scale of his vision. Though Leucantha originated from a smaller study of dancer Martha Clarke — now part of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. — Gausman did not envision these large-scale sculptures as portraits. Instead, he viewed them as landscapes, shaped by the same sense of vastness and rhythm that animates nature itself, or “An association expressed through a shared sense of scale,” he once said.

“I am delighted that we received funding to conserve Leucantha, a celebrated sculpture that has been in Grounds For Sculpture’s collection for almost 30 years. The expertise of our colleagues at Johnson Atelier will ensure that this monumental work brings joy to our guests for years to come,” said Faith McClellan, GFS director of collections and exhibitions.

Now, nearly two decades after its last treatment in 2007, Leucantha will undergo a year-long conservation project. Over time, the sculpture’s protective surface coating has weathered under sun, wind, water, and pollution — natural forces that eventually touch every outdoor artwork. This restoration will involve removing and replacing the deteriorated coating, ensuring the sculpture’s brilliant surface and structural integrity are preserved for future generations.

The team worked in consultation with Grausman himself during the sculpture’s last restoration, and their continued involvement underscores the enduring relationship between artist, conservator, and collecting institution.

Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late Seward Johnson. It features over 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a ever-changing landscape. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.