Shakespeare & Company is set to become the new home to six sculptures created by renowned philanthropist and sculptor Harold Grinspoon.
Slated for installation in late November, these sculptures will be placed at Shakespeare & Company’s 33-acre campus in Lenox, Mass. Two will grace Kemble Street, a well-trafficked and pedestrian-friendly section of Lenox’s Cultural District, and four more along the drive at the entrance. The sites were chosen by the artist, and the works will remain on loan at the property until November 2030.
These sculptures reach up to 30 feet in height, using materials ranging from segments of live oak branches, acrylic rods, stainless-steel poles, and reflective spheres, while adapting resources such as boat paint and varnish and roofing torches for charring to protect the wood-based sculptures.
Shakespeare & Company’s Artistic Director Allyn Burrows said the installation creates a new attraction on the property that visitors can enjoy year-round.
“We’re delighted to have the works of the eminent Harold Grinspoon grace our grounds,” he said. “These pieces, landing on our property in advance of the darker season, will enliven the landscape and will surely be the source of animated conversation.”
Grinspoon, now 96, has garnered national attention as a renowned sculptor, having produced more than 170 sculptures in 11 years. He’s exhibited or loaned more than 75 sculptures to prominent locales across the U.S., including the Kent State campus in Kent, Ohio, the Bulfinch Building at Boston’s Mass General Hospital, the Jill Rosenzweig Memorial Sculpture Garden in Tucson, Ariz., and many others.
A longtime summer resident in the Berkshires, Grinspoon said he has long dreamed of having his art at Shakespeare & Company.
“Art is many things, from performances, music, exhibitions, history, and imagination,” he said. “I have esteemed the community of creatives at Shakespeare & Company and am honored to have my sculptures among them for a time.”
Grinspoon is the founder of Aspen Square Management and creator of PJ Library, the flagship philanthropic endeavor of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, which presents more than 650,000 free books each month to children across 40+ countries, on six continents, in seven languages.
In 2015, he and his wife, Diane Troderman, signed The Giving Pledge and joined a growing list of leading philanthropists who have committed to dedicating at least 50% of their wealth to philanthropy. Grinspoon began his third career as an artist in his eighties.
For more information, visit shakespeare.org or haroldgrinspoonsculptures.com.
Photo Caption: DINOSAUR, created by sculptor Harold Grinspoon in 2021, is one of six large-scale sculptures loaned to Shakespeare & Company through 2030. It is made from vertical cuts of live oak branches, treated and painted with yacht-boat paint, and varnished. Photo by Madeline Carnavale
About Shakespeare & Company
Shakespeare & Company was founded in 1978 by Tina Packer. Located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, the Company offers performance, education, and actor-training opportunities year-round, and attracts more than 40,000 patrons annually with a core of more than 150 artists.
About the Harold Grinspoon Foundation
The Harold Grinspoon Foundation (HGF) envisions a future where everyone can meaningfully connect to Jewish life, culture, and community. Since 1991, the HGF has invested over $700 million alongside our partners and donors to help create and sustain transformational experiences, including through three flagship programs: PJ Library, JCamp 180, and Life & Legacy. PJ Library sends more than 650,000 free Jewish children’s books to families around the globe every month. JCamp 180 supports more than 140 non-profit Jewish overnight and day camps to build their organizational effectiveness and long-term financial sustainability. And through Life & Legacy, the HGF promotes endowment giving in Jewish communities and has helped secure $2B for a vibrant Jewish future.
