Skip to content
Harvey Fite (American, 1903-1976), 'Opus 40,' created in 1939 in Saugerties, N.Y. Photo by Dmadeo, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.

Repairs planned for NY sculpture damaged by storm

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson

Harvey Fite (American, 1903-1976), 'Opus 40,' created in 1939 in Saugerties, N.Y. Photo by Dmadeo, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.
Harvey Fite (American, 1903-1976), ‘Opus 40,’ created in 1939 in Saugerties, N.Y. Photo by Dmadeo, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.
SAUGERTIES, N.Y. (AP) – Repairs are being planned for a massive environmental sculpture in New York’s Hudson Valley after it was damaged by heavy rains.

Owners of “Opus 40” say they’ll rebuild a section of the 6 1/2-acre sculpture built by Harvey Fite between 1939 and 1976.

Fite hand-laid each stone, using no mortar and ancient techniques. Fite died while working on the sculpture when his riding mower got stuck in gear and flipped him over the edge of a channel.

Caretaker Bill Cochrane says a stone wall caved in, apparently due to water pressure building up during Tuesday’s storm.

Fite’s stepson, Tad Richards, says the damaged section has been cordoned off, but the rest of the site remains open to the public.

Richards says there’s no cost estimate or timetable yet for repairs.

#   #   #

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Harvey Fite (American, 1903-1976), 'Opus 40,' created in 1939 in Saugerties, N.Y. Photo by Dmadeo, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.
Harvey Fite (American, 1903-1976), ‘Opus 40,’ created in 1939 in Saugerties, N.Y. Photo by Dmadeo, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.