Ulster County's Opus 40 Receives $300,000 Grant Funding

Opus 40's 57 acre property has just received a major grant that will go towards repair and preservation to the masterwork sculpture located at the center of the site.

In a press release from the Opus 40 Sculpture Park and Museum, it was announced that Opus 40 had received a $300,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for the repair and conservation of their world-famous 6.5 acre bluestone sculpture that was created by the late artist, and Bard College professor, Harvey Fite.

The announcement of this award is especially exciting because it will match a grant of the same size from the National Parks Service/Save America's Treasures program, and will allow them to preserve the masterwork of the work at the center of their property.

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According to Executive Director Caroline Crumpacker, the staff at Opus 40 had been busy interviewing for a leadership team that would provide guidance to the conservation process, which includes adhering to the competitive bidding processes that are stipulated by federal grants.

We will have some have some tremendously exciting news very soon about the conservation process, how it will be structured, and all the ways that our wonderful community will be involved. Our great hope is that we can make this project a real part of the cultural, physical and historical landscape of the Hudson Valley — with mentorships, public programs and guided tours of the process.

The multi-year program of sculpture repair and conservation at Opus 40 will be completed with assistance from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, who provided the grant funding, and Johnathan Becker, President of the Opus 40 Board of Directors, expressed his excitement in working with the staff at the foundation. He stated:

The Foundation's grant, combined with the National Parks Service/Save America's Treasures' grant, announced in September, will allow for a truly historic conservation effort and will secure the preservation of Fite's sculpture for generations to come.

In addition, Opus 40 was honored to share the news that they also earned a grant of $49,500 from the New York State Council on the Arts for general operations in 2022.

Opus 40, located in Saugerties, Ulster County, has been referred to by some as the Stonhenge of North America. In sharing the announcement of this funding is not only important to the preservation of their property, their Director of Marketing, Philip Mandelbaum explained that the funding demonstrates a commitment to the arts and culture of the Hudson Valley.