RICHARD STONE

STONE--Richard E. Conservator Emeritus, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Richard Stone (February 2, 1939 - November 15, 2021) passed away peacefully at his home in New York at the age of 82 with his beloved wife of 32 years, Elizabeth, at his side. Richard (frequently called Dick) was born in Brooklyn and attended Brooklyn Technical High School. He credited a high school class in metal casting at Brooklyn Tech as the source of his lifelong fascination with materials technology. He began his undergraduate studies at Cornell University but preferred to complete his undergraduate studies in the field of art history at Brooklyn College. Subsequently, while attending the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU he divided his studies between Conservation and Art History, as he believed that the two fields were inseparable. During his student years he taught Art History at the Bronx Campus of NYU and while in the summer months he was field conservator to the Harvard-Cornell excavations at Sardis, Turkey. After completing his course work toward the Ph.D., he spent time in Italy studying Italian bronzes and about six months at the Victoria and Albert Museum where he developed a life-long friendship with the museum's curator, Tony Radcliffe. Before joining the Department of Objects Conservation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1978, Dick already had a significant impact on the study of bronzes and bronze casting. Today, he ranks foremost among the founders of bronze technical studies. Dick pioneered the analysis of x-rays, reading them to reverse engineer how Renaissance bronzes were made. His groundbreaking Metropolitan Museum Journal article of 1982 on Antico and Italian Renaissance bronze casting techniques provided the direction and structure of future studies in Europe and America. His article on the casting of Donatello's Judith and Holofernes brought the Renaissance foundry to life. Leading conservators, conservation scientists, and curators are proud to claim Dick as a mentor. He aimed his technical writing at a wide audience, and he taught his students well. His essays on Andrea Riccio and Severo da Ravenna's casting techniques, for example, make memorable technical contributions that are delivered in engaging conversational prose. Dick always shared his delight in studying sculpture -- taking his students and readers with him on journeys of discovery. His enthusiasm for Renaissance bronzes encompassed so much more than facture. At symposia and study days, Dick often applied his expansive knowledge of ancient literature and European history to make crucial observations that unlocked a work's formal and symbolic character. For Dick, making and meaning were inseparable, and their endless combinations provided him with a lifetime of dedicated scholarly fascination that all who follow him are fortunate to share. Shortly before passing away, he completed his last article: the technical introduction of the catalogue of the Metropolitan Museum's Renaissance Bronze catalogue, a publication which he dreamed of from his first day at the Museum. After its completion, he told Elizabeth that he had a wonderful life and wanted to do it all over again! Sometimes, when someone is as brilliant as Richard Stone, the human side is overlooked, if not forgotten. Always a gentleman, he was kind and patient while helping his friends solve many of the world's intractable problems and even those which were really no problem at all. Richard's love of young Cynthia Silverman, always providing thoughtful and challenging gifts and toys over the years is remembered to this day. One Easter, he gave her a bird's nest filled with the most beautiful eggs made of semi-precious stones. On the side of the nest was perched a bird adorned with lovely feathers. With it he provided a chart explaining the different properties of the stones. What a brilliant mind, gentle soul, and wonderful and giving teacher he was! He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, his loving sister Nancy of Manhattan, and his nephew Eric Lang of Phoenix, Oregon. His beautiful niece Manjari Sihare-Sutin of New York always brought joy into the household along with her husband Matthew Sutin who provided laughter, while the periodic arrival of her wonderful sister Vasundhara Sihare Jhunjhunwala of Bangalore and her family contributed to the wholeness of his family. He is equally mourned by an international community of professionals working in museums and universities throughout the world.