Guide to the Monumenta collection, 1988-2007

(bulk 2006)


Salve Regina University Special Collections
McKillop Library
100 Ochre Point Ave.
Newport, RI 02891
Tel: 401-341-2276
Fax: 401-341-2951
email: archives@salve.edu

Published in 2010

Collection Overview

Title: Monumenta collection
Date range: 1988-2007, (bulk 2006)
Creator: Patrella, Diane
Extent: .208 linear feet (1 half document box)
Abstract: This collection contains miscellaneous records related to the Monumenta outdoor art exhibit held in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1974.
Language of materials: English
Repository: Salve Regina University Special Collections
Collection number: SP 05

Scope & content

This collection contains miscellaneous records related to the Monumenta art exhibit in Newport in 1974. The bulk of the materials were created by Diane M. Patrella, a student at Salve Regina University, who wrote about Monumenta in her senior thesis for the art department. A transcript of her 2005 interview with William Crimmins, the organizer of the original exhibit, is included. The collection contains a copy of her thesis as submitted in May 2006 as well as a version as published in Newport History, the journal of the Newport Historical Society, in Spring 2007. Newspaper obituaries of two contributing artists to the Monumenta exhibit are also included in the collection.

Access Points

Subject Names Subject Organizations Subject Topics Subject Topics Occupations

Arrangement

All arranged in one series.

Historical note

Monumenta was an outdoor modern art exhibit held in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1974. It consisted of fifty-four sculptures which had been created by forty different artists, including Christo, Willem De Koonig, Kosso Eloul, Richard Fleischner, Anne Healy, and James Rosati. The sculptures were loaned to Monumenta on a temporary basis for the sole purpose of the exhibit, which was open to the public from August 17, 1974 to October 13, 1974.

The exhibit spanned ten different locations around Newport, including Bowens Wharf, Brick Market Place, Chateau-sur-Mer, the Elms, King’s Beach, various locations on Ocean Drive, and Perrotti Park. Some of these sites were public areas owned by the state and town, while others were owned by the Preservation Society of Newport County. William Crimmins, a Newport resident, organized the exhibit, and the director was Sam Hunter, a professor from Princeton.

Monumenta had a significant impact, both positive and negative, on Newport and its citizens.

Access & Use

Access to the collection: This collection is not restricted.
Use of the materials: Various copying restriction apply, according to the Special Collections use policy. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be directed to the Special Collections Librarian. See also McKillop Library's copyright and publication statement.
Preferred citation: [Identification of item], in SP 05: Monumenta collection, Box 1, [Folder #], Special Collections, McKillop Library, Salve Regina University, Newport, RI
Contact information: Salve Regina University Special Collections
McKillop Library
100 Ochre Point Ave.
Newport, RI 02891
Tel: 401-341-2276
Fax: 401-341-2951
email: archives@salve.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION  
Acquisition: Material acquired from various sources between 2006 and 2007. Professor James Yarnall delivered most items to the library.
Accruals: Additional accruals may be added in the future but are not anticipated.
Processing information: Collection was processed by Shelley Byron, Archives Assistant, in 2008.New finding aid produced in 2008 by Shelley Byron, Archives Assistant, and Maria Bernier, University Archivist and Special Collections Librarian.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID  
Author: Finding aid prepared by Shelley Byron and Maria Bernier.
Encoding: Finding aid encoded by Aimee Saunders 2010 July 06
Descriptive rules: Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Related material:
  • SP 03 William A. and Gael Crimmins papers and photos on Monumenta
  • Hunter, Sam. Monumenta: a biennial exhibition of outdoor sculpture, Newport, Rhode Island, August 17 through October 13, 1974. Newport, R.I.: Monumenta Newport Inc., 1974. (Salve Newport Collection NB198 .M7)
  • Yard, Sally and Gianfranco Gorgoni. Christo: Oceanfront. Princeton, N.J.: Art Museum, Princeton University, 1975. (Salve Newport Collection N7193.C5 P74 1975)

Inventory


Box 1, Folder 1 Interview with William Crimmins by Diane Patrella
2005 Nov
Box 1, Folder 2 "Monumenta," by Diane Patrella
2006 May
Box 1, Folder 3 Newport History, vol. 76, no. 256 (2007) containing articles "Newport and Monumenta: The Ambition, Controversy, and Legacy of Contemporary Sculpture" by Diane Patrella and "Monumenta Redux" by William A. Crimmins
2007
Box 1, Folder 4 Newspaper obituaries of James Rosati and Kosso Eloul, contributing artists
1988,1995