(CS1.4) Return of the Horses: A mistake mended with a great deal of research, testing and trial and error

Mistakes happen. A water main break under a plaza in a public housing project led to the cutting at the knees of the legs of eighteen concrete sculpture horses. This is the tale of how the horses were repaired and placed back in the 1964 modernist landscape designed by artist Constantino Nivola in collaboration with architect Richard Stein. This presentation examines what it takes to repair concrete, not just sculpture, and how repairs need to be reevaluated as a project progresses.
This tale begins in March 2021, when a water main broke and the eighteen horses were removed to gain access to repair the main. In his haste, a contractor sawed the legs off although he saved the horse bodies. Large sections of the legs were lost. A development company that had taken over management of the housing from NYCHA, reached out to Jablonski Building Conservation, Inc. to find a way to repair the horses and bring them back to the plaza. The horses were not in pristine condition. Soon after their installation, a troubled man took a hammer to the horses’ muzzles. Later, a new concrete topping poured in the plaza, submerging their hooves in three inches of concrete. Over time, deterioration of the horses and Nivola’s other sculptures in the plaza attracted the attention of various preservation groups who tried unsuccessfully to raise funds their conservation.

The developer wanted the horses repaired and provided the funds to conserve the horses. The first issue is that while parts of the legs were found and parts remained on the horse body, their actual size and configuration were unknown. Each of the four legs was different. Nivola had used horses in other landscapes in New York City, but they have all disappeared. Major research was undertaken of his other work around the United States, and it was discovered that three fiberglass horses remained of a similar herd at a school in Indiana. Two conservators from JBC negotiated with the school to be allowed to make a mold of one of the horses. It was not quite an exact fit, but it provided valuable information about the configuration.

A great deal of research, testing, and trial and error was undertaken to make casting mixes and find the means for reattaching the newly cast legs. The horses had to withstand children and it was assumed adults climbing on them. This paper will examine the successes and lessons learned in finding a satisfactory structural solution for attaching the new castings and well as making the castings. While there were trials and tribulations, in the end, the herd was restored and placed back in its concrete pasture.