This summer thanks to the sponsorship of The Hollycroft Foundation 28 sculptures were installed for a mile along the Main Street of Ivoryton, one of which is Tres Gatos by Gilbert Boro of Old Lyme. Stretching from the Centerbrook border past the famed Ivoryton Playhouse to the Tuskan Restaurant, this museum without walls is drawing visitors at all times of the day and into the evening.
 In a recent interview Fred Osborne, President Emeritus of Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts and also The Hollycroft Foundation Director remarked, “The Sculpture Mile at Ivoryton has no closing hours nor entry fees, not an intimidating guard in sight, and we even encourage children and adults to gently touch the sculptures! Art doesn’t get better than this, and its popularity is growing."
Osborne continues, "One work, titled ‘Hoity" (by Hugh MacDonald and pictured above, photo by Leslie Barlow), which is sited half way through the exhibition, lives up to its title, poking fun at the hoity side of our nature. Sculpture can even be humorous.”
The Sculpture Mile runs on both sides of Ivoryton’s Main Street and has sidewalks for the length of the exhibit. Exhibition catalogues are available at the libraries and from many merchants in the nine towns in the Lower Connecticut River Valley. The catalogue is also available on line at www.hollycroft.org
The sculptures in the exhibition range from traditionally realistic works to nonobjective abstract pieces, from monumental in scale to small and intimate. They are made in a wide variety of materials from bronze to steel and from wood to marble, and have been created by nationally distinguished artists from Maine to North Carolina. The artists often travel to install their own works and most are for sale. The exhibition is planned to continue permanently, refreshed with new works each Spring.
Area residents have expressed pride in this cultural addition to their environment – one has written, “I have lived here for nine years and enjoy the dialogue and inspiration that having great works of art among us brings to my friends and family. Not to mention the aesthetic pleasure.”
The Hollycroft Foundation (founded in 1994) is dedicated to providing open public access to art as part of everyday life and to enhance the role of the arts and culture in Connecticut. Hollycroft has initiated a program in area schools providing docent tours along Ivoryton’s Main Street as well as in the center of Madison. Plans are being formulated for sculpture-related activities and workshops.
Asked about the history of this exhibition, William C. Bendig , President of the Foundation commented, “Since its beginnings in Ivoryton in 1997, the first Sculpture Mile inspired many similar outdoor exhibits across the nation. Hollycroft has mounted exhibitions in many Connecticut towns and cities including Clinton, Manchester, Middletown, Westbrook, and West Haven. For the past nine years Madison has hosted The Mile and the 2009-2010 edition of that exhibition is currently in the center of that town.”
He added, “We hope the residents of the Lower Valley will feel that The Mile is their living museum as much as the citizens of Madison have. We invite them to join the celebration of now having these significant contemporary American sculptures right here in the middle of the Lower River Valley. We want people who have never experienced sculpture up close to discover the adventure."
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