Avangrid Foundation Funds Restoration of Famed Nathan Hale Statue

The Avangrid Foundation has awarded a grant to The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art to fund the restoration of Enoch Smith Woods’s Nathan Hale (1889), the bronze figure displayed on the Main Street lawn of the museum, located in Hartford, CT.

The Foundation’s award of $50,000 will fund the conservation of the slightly-larger-than-life sculpture of the Revolutionary War martyr, perhaps the first such restoration work since its installation in front of the museum in 1894. The grant will also realize a plan to illuminate the restored sculpture.

“Institutions like the Wadsworth Atheneum and their initiatives to reduce barriers to access—such as their dedication to public art—help make our communities viable and are imperative for cultural endurance,” said Nicole Licata Grant, Director of the Avangrid Foundation. “The story of Nathan Hale’s heroism and sacrifice lives on through this monument. Through the restoration and illumination of this iconic work of art we honor our collective heritage, perseverance, and renewal.”

The Foundation has a well-established relationship with the Wadsworth Atheneum, including the recent funding of a state-of-the-art lighting project that improved efficiency and the visual display of its collections.

Nathan Hale is Connecticut’s official state hero and a national patriotic symbol. Since no life portraits of him exist, Woods’s bronze creatively memorializes Hale’s youthful vigor and moral courage. The portrait shows twenty-one-year-old Nathan Hale approaching execution with his right hand placed solidly across his chest, respectfully saluting his country. That was when he spoke his famous line, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

The eight-foot tall bronze was cast by M.H. Mosman Foundry in Chicopee, Massachusetts, and placed atop an equally tall base made from New England granite.

“The renewal of this important sculpture—at once a public monument and an important work of art—continues our commitment to connecting and enlivening the cityscape,” said Thomas J. Loughman, Director and CEO of the Wadsworth. “We are thankful to have this opportunity, made possible with the help of the Avangrid Foundation, at a time when appreciation for the arts in our lives and public spaces is so essential.”

Nathan Hale has been out in the elements on Hartford’s Main Street for 126 years. The green corrosion, typical of outdoor works made with copper alloys, has significantly altered the appearance of the original bronze surface. Francis Miller, directing conservator of Conserve ART will lead the conservation treatment, in collaboration with the Wadsworth’s objects conservator. Expected to begin in the summer of 2020, treatments will correct discoloration and prevent deterioration of the metal.