Starting in the early morning and continuing into the afternoon, workers installed a sculpture of Frost on the outskirts of the Freshman Quadrangle, just northeast of the War Memorial. The sculpture portrays Frost leaning on some rocks, book in hand, staring at the library dedicated more than 40 years ago in his honor.
The sculpture is a gift from the class of 1957, which will soon celebrate its 50th reunion.
According to the primary driving force behind the gift, Alan Schechter '57, the sculpture is not meant to honor just Frost, but all of the College's teachers. It is "something to symbolize the importance of teaching at the College," Schechter explained. "The idea was to do something that would speak to the College community … that fits in with the history of the campus."
Schechter said his class was the last to have Frost as a professor at the College. According to Schechter, he was not the typical professor. He emanated a presence on the campus that extended well beyond the classroom. Frost would frequently go into living rooms of fraternities and read his poetry in front of 20 to 30 sitting students. "As seniors we revered him," said Ken Kermes '57, an alum who came to watch the installation. "He was a craggy old gentleman."
Both the sculpture and base are made of Black Zimbabwe Granite. The base and sculpture have a combined weight of close to 17 tons and a height of 10 feet. Starting at 6 a.m. and continuing into the afternoon, two firms specializing in sculpture installation labored to set the work into place.
First, using a crane, they separately removed the base and sculpture from a truck and set them down onto the ground. Then, again using a crane, they moved the base from the ground onto a thin, cement foundation that was laid down in the fall. After the base was level, they could finally move the Frost sculpture up on top of it. This last step took a considerable amount of time, as they meticulously moved the sculpture from side to side in order to make sure it was at the perfect angle.
The statue's sculptor, Penelope Jenks, was on the grounds the entire time, nervously looking on as her labor was transported through the air and placed down for good onto the base.
Jenks was selected to produce the work by a committee consisting of, among others, trustees, members of the fine arts department, representatives from the Mead Art Museum and College administrators. Schechter, a member of the committee, said that they decided they should have "a unique and extraordinary piece by a prominent sculptor." Jenks fit the bill.
Schechter said Jenks had an overwhelming resumé, already having done two prominent public sculptures-one of Eleanor Roosevelt on Riverside Drive in New York City and another of Samuel Elliot Morrison on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston.
Jenks began work on the sculpture in 2001 after doing extensive research on Frost. She said she read his biography as well his poetry. More importantly, she looked at hundreds of photos in the archives of Frost Library as well as the public library in Amherst town.
"You learn more from photos than reading about people," Jenks explained. She said the body language and facial expressions of the photos gave her a sense of what kind of person Frost was.
When designing the sculpture, Jenks had one photo in particular in mind. She said it was a photo of Frost sitting on a stone wall, with a jacket very similar to the one he is wearing in the sculpture. Jenks said she thinks that in her sculpture, "[Frost] looks the way he would like to look."
Her choice of material was similarly motivated. Rather than using a slippery material like marble, she said she felt the rugged granite was more appropriate for Frost. "I had a feeling he'd like to be in granite," she explained.
The Black Zimbabwe Granite used for the sculpture came from Pietrasanta, Italy. Jenks, a resident of Newton, Mass., created a six-foot-tall clay model of the sculpture and brought it to Italy. Starting in the summer of 2004, a studio in Pietrasanta began to carve the sculpture out of the granite. It was supposed to be completed by April 2005, but work was not finished on the sculpture until a little more than three weeks ago.
When finished, the sculpture was shipped from Italy to New Jersey, and yesterday it was set into its permanent location, just to the right of the soon-to-be opened Charles Pratt Dormitory.
Originally, according to Jenks, the College wanted the sculpture to be somewhere in front of Frost Library, but she did not think this felt right. "He is more a man of nature," Jenks explained, "I don't see him in front of a big, brick building."
Before beginning the sculpture, she said she walked all around the campus with former College President Tom Gerety. Different locations were discussed, and they decided the current location was most appropriate. It was a natural setting, with trees above, hills behind and easy accessibility.
According to an article from Amherst Magazine in winter 2002, the cost of the sculpture was supposed to be around $250,000. Schechter said most of the money for the sculpture came from donations from his class. On June 2, at 9 a.m., the sculpture will be officially dedicated during the class of 1957's 50th reunion.
At some point, a plaque will be placed in front of the sculpture stating: "To honor generations of Amherst College faculty who, as Frost said of enduring poems, 'Reach the eye, the ear, and what we may call the heart or the mind.'"
The sculpture will remain somewhat fenced in for the rest of the year, as it is within the Charles Pratt Dormitory construction site. Next year, as the new dorm opens and the construction site clears, students will be able to see the sculpture in its full glory.
"Now that I [have seen] this, it just couldn't be better," said Alison Schechter, Alan's wife. "It took a lot of support from a lot of the people in the class … It really is an extraordinary accomplishment."
"He's beautiful; it's absolutely great," added Kermes, "He gets to sit here and look at his library."