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LIC
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MAY 2 0 2 0 I BOROMAG.COM 25
LEGENDS
Bridge Gof Imagination reater Long Island City, legendary
birthplace of inventive skill and
imagination, has a roster of
exceptional examples within
the world of industry and creative
arts. As to the latter, it
boasts New
York City’s greatest
listings of galleries
and ateliers outside
of Manhattan. Our
community’s array
of notable sculpture
is on the “must
see” list of both cognoscenti
and amateur
devotees from around the world: Noguchi Museum,
Sculpture Center, Socrates Sculpture Park and the monuments
of Athens Square.
Within another level, we are also the place of pilgrimage
for those who create art. In Long Island City, we can boast
one of the world’s great art forges, the Modern Art Foundry.
Its works span the world as the legacy of three generations
of the Spring family. Its location, in the former stables of the
Steinway Mansion is most apt. As the Steinways were able
to provide the means to bring forth the creative dreams
of artists in music, the Spring family shepherds sculptors
across the Bridge of Imagination in the often convoluted
process that evolves idea into form.
The firm’s newsletter reflects on their accomplishments: “We
strive to provide a sculptor’s access to skilled craft persons,
tools, machinery and technology needed. We work on pieces
ranging from 2 inches to 50 feet, from representational to abstract,
for the well-known, critically acclaimed artist and the
sculptor just enjoying art as an amateur.”
Notable local examples of their work, (and by no means a
complete inventory) include “Hans Christian Andersen” and
“Alice in Wonderland” in Central Park, “George M. Cohan” in
Times Square, “Garment Worker” in the Fashion District, “Mayor
LaGuardia” at LaGuardia Place, and “Sophocles” here in Astoria’s
Athens Square Park.
A number of years ago the foundry’s newsletter published
an interview of then-retiring president Bob Spring, the son
of founder John Spring, and the father of current managers,
brother Jeffrey and sister Mary Jo. It gave a rare insider’s view
on the vital role foundries play within the arts:
“The Foundry has a life of its own … able to expand and contract
as the times and the market demands. It has been a good
life. Artists are great to be around for they are full of life and
not afraid to express it. In the future when the artists need us,
we will be there.”
Bob Spring, 87, passed away April 27, 2020.
/BOROMAG.COM
