[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2476-S2477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING FRANK GAYLORD

  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, on March 21, 2018, Vermont lost one of 
its finest sculptors, Frank Gaylord.
  Frank Gaylord, a Granite City resident, was a beloved member of the 
Barre community. Frank influenced the city and its residents, and the 
city in turn influenced his art. The local granite quarries of Barre 
provided ample materials for Frank to hone his sculpting skills.
  Frank served his country not just in World War II, receiving a Bronze 
Star for his service, but also in creating the Korean War Veterans 
Memorial, his most famous work, which resides on the National Mall in 
Washington, DC. The memorial is visually striking; Frank captured the 
movement and feel of war, the 19 figures of diverse American soldiers 
are shrouded in ponchos and seem to walk endlessly. Frank called the 
day the memorial arrived on the National Mall as the highlight of his 
life.
  Other examples of Frank's work can be seen in many New England towns, 
including at the Connecticut capital and in Williston and Montpelier, 
VT. However, what Vermont will best remember Frank by was his 
dedication and determination to improve Vermont's own Granite City. 
Frank's contributions to the Barre Granite Association, as well as to 
the former Barre Players, will be missed.
  Frank's passing is a loss to Vermont, to the community of Barre, VT, 
and to the Nation. I will always remember Frank when I see his work on 
the National Mall and throughout Vermont, and how he so beautifully 
captured our country's spirit.
  I ask unanimous consent that the Times Argus article ``He had an arts 
spirit: Famed Barre sculptor Frank Gaylord has died'' be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

   He Had an Arts Spirit: Famed Barre Sculptor Frank Gaylord Has Died

                          (By Eric Blaisdell)

       Barre.--The Granite City lost likely its most famous 
     modern-day resident with the death of sculptor Frank Gaylord.
       Gaylord, 93, died at his daughter's home in Northfield 
     Wednesday night. Funeral arrangements have yet to be 
     announced, and are being taken care of by The Hooker and 
     Whitcomb Funeral Home.
       Gaylord created the National Korean War Veterans Memorial 
     in Washington, DC. Other monuments created by Gaylord include 
     the Firemen's Memorial in Eugene, Oregon; the Doctor Ashbel 
     Smith statue in Baytown, Texas; the Policemen's Memorial in 
     Jacksonville, Florida; the Toledo Mud Hens Monument in 
     Toledo, Ohio; and the National Little League Monument in 
     Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
       When Gaylord was growing up in Clarksburg, West Virginia, 
     he recalled in a Times Argus story in 2015, his grandmother 
     would give him plastic molds into which he would press clay 
     to make reliefs. That transformed into sculpting clay animals 
     and then he moved to carving soap, quickly learning how much 
     material it actually took to make a full sculpture.
       As he grew up, Gaylord was initially interested in 
     taxidermy, which, at that time, was done by sculpting plaster 
     molds, with the animal skins pulled over them.
       Then World War II came along, and Gaylord became a 
     paratrooper for two and a half years. Gaylord served with the 
     17th Airborne and fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
       After the war, he used the G.I. Bill and ended up at the 
     Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, which had both engineering 
     and fine arts schools. He later transferred to Temple 
     University's Tyler School of Art, where he focused on 
     becoming a carver.
       In 1951, Mac Durnovich of E.J. Batchelder Co. in Barre 
     hired Gaylord. So he and his late wife Mary moved to Vermont. 
     He knew the community's reputation, its rich ethnic heritage, 
     and its renowned craftsmanship. He said in 2015 he knew he 
     could learn there.
       Master sculptor Giuliano Cecchinelli, of Barre, has known 
     Gaylord since the 1960s. Cecchinelli said Thursday that Barre 
     has never had a sculptor like Gaylord.
       ``He gave Barre more than Barre asked. . . . He made Barre, 
     Vermont,'' he said.
       Cecchinelli said Gaylord was a perfectionist when it came 
     to his style of work, which had a more modern flair to it. He 
     said when he first met Gaylord he could tell right away that 
     Gaylord had class and that he would achieve what he wanted to 
     achieve.
       Cecchinelli said he owns several pieces of Gaylord's work, 
     which he keeps in his home.
       Sue Higby, executive director of Studio Place Arts in 
     downtown Barre, has known Gaylord for 15 years. Higby 
     highlighted his work at her studio in 2015.
       ``I'm truly very sorry to hear of his passing and his 
     integrity as an artist will live on in Barre for years to 
     come,'' she said.
       Higby said Gaylord was a cultural intellectual who loved 
     theater, dance and the human form. She also said Gaylord, 
     more than most artists, had the ability to capture in his 
     work the feeling of a ballet dancer's movement or the 
     fluttering of a piece of fabric.
       Jerry Williams owns and operates Barre Sculpture Studios. 
     Williams has known Gaylord since the 1980s and at one point 
     he owned the studio next to Gaylord's.
       ``Frank was a mentor to many sculptors, some of them still 
     operating in town. Some of them have moved on and done other

[[Page S2477]]

     things. But he was a real valuable part of the sculpture 
     community in this town. Not just monumental, but the art of 
     what we're doing,'' he said.
       Williams said he will remember Gaylord as someone with a 
     dry wit who knew how to put things in perspective, such as 
     how sculptors fit into the art scene. He said because Gaylord 
     went to art school, he approached sculpting from a different 
     perspective than those who learned by working in a granite 
     shed.
       ``When I met him I kind of wanted to emulate that part of 
     him that wasn't ground down by an industry. He still had an 
     arts spirit,'' Williams said.

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