Casting model for an urn, Sandbeck Park - Special Thanks To: Moor, Baker & Associates Architects PA
Crouching Aphrodite - Special Thanks To: Louise K. Kaufman
Sleeping Ariadne
Discobulus
Bust of Juno
Jacob and Esau from the Gates of Paradise
Head of Hesiod
Entablature from the Basilica of Santa Croce - Special Thanks To: Clem Labine
Scroll to browse highlights on view in the ICAA Cast Hall, including pieces deaccessioned from The Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as the Dick Reid Teaching Collection.
In 2004, the Metropolitan Museum of Art deaccessioned a historic collection of 120 plaster casts. The Metropolitan Museum of Art identified the ICAA as an appropriate steward of this significant collection due to the organization’s ongoing efforts to perpetuate the classical tradition in architecture and the related arts. The collection of plaster casts represents rare, high artistry in the craft of mold making and casting, and is an invaluable part of an education in traditional architecture and the allied arts. The ICAA uses the cast collection as a visual teaching aid, enabling students to view and draw from the finest examples of classical elements from masterpieces abroad.
Dick Reid was one of the world’s leading architectural artisans and restored numerous Medieval, Renaissance, and Enlightenment-era buildings in and outside of London, including the Somerset House, Windsor Castle, and the Spencer House. In 2005, Mr. Reid retired and donated the items in his shop, some of which are also visible on this page, to be used as a visual teaching aid for the ICAA.
The Plaster Cast Hall is possible thanks to the generous support of Flower Construction, Foster Reeve & Associates, and Seth Weine.
The ICAA would like to thank the following Cast Hall donors for their transformational support:
Peter Pennoyer Architects
Highlights of the plaster cast collection are on view in the ICAA’s Cast Hall by appointment. School groups are encouraged to visit and take advantage of our free programming that is tailored to each individual visiting group.
For educators interested in visiting the Cast Hall, click here to learn more about our Cast Hall programming and here to read descriptions of previous programs.
Please email [email protected] or call 212-730-9646 × 115 to arrange a visit and discuss our curriculum options.
Admission to view the collection is free. Please consider making a donation to support the collection and the ICAA's educational initiatives.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
39 x 26 x 9 in. (HWD)
20 West 44th Street, New York, NY
This plaster cast is a piece of a decorative band of a larger unknown structure. The deeply carved floral motifs create visual interest through the interplay of light and shadow. The overlapping of the figural forms contributes to the viewer’s sense of depth as well as transforms what was once originally static, cold, lifeless marble into a dynamic scene of fecundity and growth. The marble façade of St. Gilles du Gard from which these casts were made dates to the 12th or 13th centuries. The church is an important pilgrimage site on the path to Santiago de Compostela. The façade sculpture and ornament, in French Romanesque style, combines Roman and early Christian influences. This frieze was above the apostle sculptures below.
31 1/2 x 61 3/8 x 16 7/8 in. (HWD)
This cast replicates a rinceau panel (a decorative border with vines, leaves, and fruits) from St. Gilles du Gard. During the 7th century, Saint-Gilles du Gard was founded as a Benedictine monastery under Saint Gilles – a hermit priest. The Abbey became a major resting point for pilgrims and crusaders on route to the Holy Land. The Romanesque portal was built during the 12th century. It is a continuously admired aspect of the Medieval site. The portal illustrates scenes from the story of Christ as a dedication to Saint Gilles. The portal is a great example of the Romanesque in Provincial France. The cast was originally part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Medieval collection.
20 West 44th Street