In Memoriam
Richard E. Stone, Conservator Emeritus (February 2, 1939–November 15, 2021)
Our longtime colleague, Richard Edward Stone, passed away on November 15, 2021. Dick, as he was nearly universally known, was born and raised in Brooklyn. He majored in chemistry at Brooklyn Technical High School and often spoke of an introductory class in metal casting as the spark that ignited his lifelong interest in technology. While studying art history at New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts, Dick worked during the summer months as field conservator for the Harvard-Cornell Archaeological Exploration of Sardis (Turkey). There he continued to forge an ever-expanding vault of knowledge rooted in ancient history and technology that grew to cover virtually everything. Dick’s groundbreaking interpretation of the pyrotechnic processes evidenced by finds at Sardis established the city, ruled by King Croesus, legendary for his great wealth, as the earliest ancient center of gold refining.
Dick taught undergraduate art history for several years before joining James H. (Tony) Frantz in the Department of Objects Conservation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1978. Together they helped build one of the most technically advanced, well-equipped, and well-staffed conservation labs in the world. The value that they placed on the crucial relationships between curators, conservators, and conservation scientists continues to inspire members of the staff today.
Dick specialized in the technical examination of works of art in metal, mostly relating to questions of origin, construction, and authenticity, and was equally conversant in matters relating to all materials, ranging from ancient gold to medieval glass to modern plastics. He also provided general oversight of departmental investigations of three-dimensional works of art proposed for purchase by the Museum. His colleagues have described his contributions at acquisition meetings as tidal waves of information flowing down the long boardroom table, cresting over the heads of the Trustees and senior staff, temporarily stunning them with the depth and breadth of his expertise.
He was a voracious reader, and unlike most of us, retained everything, earning him the reputation of being a walking encyclopedia. Colleagues liked to test him on this occasionally, and he never failed to come up with the Latin name for some obscure plant, a recipe for the perfect key lime pie, or a better explanation for the elusive dark matter of the universe. Dick was gregarious by nature and was perfectly happy to talk with anyone, about anything, anytime, always with characteristic humor and aplomb.An equally gifted scholar and teacher, Dick was known for the clarity with which he could explain even the most complex concepts. He also believed that there was no value in dumbing things down. Once asked by a colleague if they should simplify the technical details of a presentation to the public, he quipped that it was better to leave people a little confused than to insult their intelligence.
Dick was Adjunct Professor of Conservation at the Institute of Fine Arts’ Conservation Center, where for many years he taught graduate students of art history on the materials and physical methods of artistic creation. His course was described by many of his students as a transformative moment in their academic and professional lives.
His publications on Renaissance patinas and the use of X-radiography to study bronzes accelerated scholarship in the fields of conservation and Renaissance studies by decades and they remain valuable resources to this day. His exposé of the Fonthill Ewer, a notorious nineteenth century forgery in the style of the Renaissance, published in the Metropolitan Museum Journal, is exemplary for its methodology and attention to detail; the vessel was just one among scores of ingenious fakes and forgeries he unmasked in the course of his career.
A brilliant editor, Dick was always ready to interrupt his own writing to support the many friends and colleagues who sent him drafts of their work. The generosity with which he shared his expertise with students, scholars, and collectors inspired a generation of professionals to focus on technical studies in their respective fields. A map situating all the people that Dick mentored over the years—many of whom are now in key curatorial and conservation leadership roles—would have colored pins fanning out across the world. He was a generous colleague on so many levels, providing emotional, pragmatic, and professional support to so many, both at the Museum and in the wider community.
Dick’s commitment to the Museum did not end with his retirement. After recently completing final edits on his technical introduction to the then forthcoming Catalogue of Italian Renaissance Bronzes, he told his beloved wife of many years, Elizabeth Rosen Stone, that he’d had a wonderful life and that he would love to return to the Museum to start it all over again.
We all will miss Dick for his scholarly achievements, encyclopedic knowledge, and wry sense of humor, and especially for his tender heart.
Publications
“Antico and the Development of Bronze Casting in Italy at the End of the Quattrocento.” Metropolitan Museum Journal 16 (1982): 87–116.
“The Bronze Hut Urn in the Metropolitan Museum: Technical Report.” Metropolitan Museum Journal, 21 (1986): 13–15.
“A Case of Mistaken Millenia: A Wounded Barbarian in Kansas City” Antike Kunst 47 (2004): 55–64 (with Robert Cohon, Paul Benson, and Pieter Meyers).
“The Church at Dereaĝazi: Preliminary Report on the Mosaics of Diaconicon.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 23–24 (1969–70): 382–93 (with James Morganstern).
“The Church at Dereaĝazi: Second Preliminary Report.” Turk Arkeoloji Dergesi 19 (1969): 85–97 (with James Morganstern).
“Defining Authenticity.” Met Objectives: Research and Treatment Notes 4, no. 1 (Fall 2002): 4.
“Direct versus Indirect Casting of Small Bronzes in the Italian Renaissance.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, August 2007.
“The Early Imperial Bronze Statue of a Boy in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: A Technical Analysis.” In I Bronzi Antichi: Produzione e Technologia, Atti del XV Congresso Internazionale,stone organizato dall’Universit`a di Undine, sede di Gorizio Grado-Aquileia, 22-26 Maggio 2001, edited by Alessandra Giumlia-Mair, 200–06. Monographies instrumentum 2, Montagnac: Mergoil, 2002 (with Seán Hemingway and Elizabeth J. Milleker).
“Evidence for the Metallurgical Origins of Glass at Two Ancient Egyptian Glass Factories.” Materials Research Society Bulletin 26, no. 1 (Jan. 2001): 38–43. (with Jennifer L. Mass and and Mark T. Wypyski),
“The Fonthill Ewer: Reconstructing the Renaissance.” Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 55 (Winter 1997–78): 46–55.
“An Investigation of the Antimony-containing Minerals used by the Romans to Prepare Opaque Colored Glasses.” In Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology V: Symposium held December 3–5, 1996, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, edited by Pamela B. Vandiver, 193–204. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings 462. Pittsburg: Materials Research Society, 1997 (with Jennifer L. Mass and Mark T. Wypyski).
Italian Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022 (edited with Denise Allen, Linda Borsch, James David Draper, and Jeffrey Fraiman).
“Italian Renaissance and Baroque Sculptors in Bronze: The Differentiation of Their Hands through the Study of Their Casting Techniques.” In Italian Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, edited by Denise Allen, Linda Borsch, James David Draper, Jeffrey Fraiman, and Richard E. Stone, 25–46. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022.
“A New Interpretation of the Casting of Donatello’s Judith and Holofernes.” In Small Bronzes in the Renaissance, edited by Debra Pincus, 55–69. Studies in the History of Art (Washington, D.C.) 62. Symposium Papers 39. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 2001.
“The New York Sleeping Eros: A Hellenistic Statue and Its Ancient Restoration.” Techne 45 (2017): 47–63 (with Seán Hemingway).
“A Noble Imposture: The Fonthill Ewer and Early Nineteenth Century Fakery.” Metropolitan Museum Journal 32 (1997): 175–206.
“Malkata and Lisht Glassmaking and Technologies: Towards a Specific Link between Second Millennium BC Metallurgists and Glassmakers.” Archaeometry 44, no. 1 (2002): 67–82 (with Jennifer L. Mass and Mark T. Wypyski).
“A Matter of Teamwork: A Discussion about Technical Studies and Art History.” The Getty Conservation Institute Newsletter 20, no. 1 (2005): 11–16.
“The Mineralogical and Metallurgical Origins of Roman Opaque Colored Glass.” In The Prehistory and History of Glassmaking Technology, edited by Patrick McCray, 121–44. Ceramics and Civilization 8. Columbus: American Ceramic Society, 1998 (with Jennifer L. Mass and Mark T. Wypyski).
“Organic Patinas on Small Bronzes of the Italian Renaissance.” Metropolitan Museum Journal 45 (2010): 107–24.
“Organic Patinas on Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes: Interpretation of Compositions of the Original Patination by Using a Set of Simulated Varnished Bronze Coupons.” Journal of Cultural Heritage 12, no. 1 (March 2011): 44–53 (with Václav Pitthard, Sabine Stanek, Martina Griesser, and Claudia Kryza-Gersch).
“Origin and Influence: Technical Evidence for Establishing Provenience.” Met Objectives: Research and Treatment Notes 4, no. 1 (Fall 2002): 1–3.
“Pyrolysis Gas Chromatographic Studies on Egyptian Archaeological Specimens: Organic Patinas on the Three Princesses’ Gold Vessels.” Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 20 (1991): 229–38.
“Reconstructing the Casting Technique of Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise.” In The Gates of Paradise: Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Renaissance Masterpiece, edited by Gary M. Radke (exhibition catalogue), 156–82. Atlanta: High Museum of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press in association with Opera di S. Maria del Fiore, Florence, 2007 (with Francesca G. Bewer and Shelly Sturman).
“Reply to Comments on J.L. Mass, M.T. Wypyski and R.E. Stone, ‘Malkata and Lisht Glassmaking and Technologies: Towards a Specific Link Between Second Millennium BC Metallurgists and Glassmakers,’” Archaeometry 44 (1), 2002, 67–82.” Archaeometry 45, no. 1 (2003): 191–98 (with Jennifer L. Mass).
“Reply” to Thilo Rehren, ‘Comments on J. L. Mass, M. T. Wypyski and R. E. Stone, ‘Malkata and Lisht Glassmaking and Technologies: Towards a Specific Link between Second Millennium BC Metallurgists and Glassmakers.’” Archaeometry 45, no. 1 (2003): 191–98. (with Jennifer L. Mass).
“Review of Harold R. Mancusi-Ungaro, Jr., Michelangelo: The Bruges Madonna and the Piccolomini Altar in Renaissance Quarterly 26, no. 3 (Autumn 1973): 340–41.
“Riccio: Technology and Connoisseurship.” In Denise Allen, with Peta Motture, Julia Leonor Vaniela, and Caitlin Ford Henningson, Andrea Riccio: Renaissance Master of Bronze (exhibition catalogue), 81–96. New York: The Frick Collection; London: P. Wilson, 2012.
“Severo Calzetta da Ravenna and the Indirectly Cast Bronze.” The Burlington Magazine 148, no. 1245 (2006): 810–19.
“Surface Composition of Some Italian Renaissance Bronzes.” In 9thTriennial Meeting, Dresden, German Democratic Republic. 26-31 August 1990: Preprints ICOM Committee for Conservation. 2 vols., II: 568–71. Los Angeles: ICOM Committee for Conservation, 1990, Vol. II, (with Raymond White and Norman Indictor).
“Technical Note.” In Bernice F. Davidson, Severo and the Sea-monsters, 29–31. New York: The Frick Collection, 1997.
“Tullio Lombardo’s Adam from the Vendramin Tomb: A New terminus ante quem.” Marsyas 16 (1972–73): 87–89.
“Understanding Antico’s Patinas.” In Antico: The Golden Age of Renaissance Bronzes, edited by Eleanora Luciano, with the collaboration of Denise Allen, Claudia Kryza-Gersch, and Stephen J. Campbell (exhibition catalogue): 179– 82. Washington DC: National Gallery of Art; New York: The Frick Collection; London: Paul Holberton Publishing, 2012.