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 Demeter

Jacob and Esau from the Gates of Paradise

Head of Hesiod

Entablature from the Basilica of Santa Croce - Special Thanks To: Clem Labine

Plaster Cast Collection

Scroll to browse highlights on view in the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½app 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 ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½app 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 ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½app 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 ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½app.

The Plaster Cast Hall is possible thanks to the generous support of Flower Construction, Foster Reeve & Associates, and Seth Weine.

The ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½app would like to thank the following Cast Hall donors for their transformational support:

Peter Pennoyer Architects


EXPLORE THE CAST HALL'S RESOURCES, SCHOLARSHIP, AND COLLECTION



Past Exhibitions



Visiting the Collection

Highlights of the plaster cast collection are on view in the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½app’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 ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½app's educational initiatives.

Spencer House Palm Room chimney piece "A"
Miscellany

This is a cast squeeze of a chimneypiece of Hesiod.

Provenance

Dick Reid Teaching Collection

Dimensions

23 1/4 x 11 x 5 in. (HWD)

Location:

20 West 44th Street, New York, NY

Various patterned railing supports
Miscellany

Provenance

Dick Reid Teaching Collection

Dimensions

28 x 3 x 3 in. each (HWD)

Location:

20 West 44th Street, New York, NY

Crown molding detail "B"
Miscellany

Provenance

Dick Reid Teaching Collection

Dimensions

3 x 36 x 2 in. (HWD)

Location:

20 West 44th Street, New York, NY

Crown molding detail "C"
Miscellany

Provenance

Dick Reid Teaching Collection

Dimensions

3 x 36 x 2 in. (HWD)

Location:

20 West 44th Street, New York, NY

Moldings
Miscellany

Top to bottom: Exterior Molding in Pine; Chimney centerpiece Spencer House; Unknown.

Provenance

Dick Reid Teaching Collection

Dimensions

about 3 x 40 x 1 in. each (HWD)

Location:

20 West 44th Street, New York, NY

Fragment Of A Fluted Column From The Tuileres Palace
Miscellany

This cast is a column capital from Tuileres Palace in Paris. On the left side is a metal impression with "L. Mathivet Mouler Paris, Union Centrale des Arts Decoratifs". Impressed in the plaster is the number 266. The cast was purchased for The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection from the Parisian maker L. Mathivet.

Provenance

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dimensions

42 1/2 in.

Location:

20 West 44th Street