Liberty Hyde Bailey Statue Renovation Campaign

BaileySculpture — The Liberty Hyde Bailey Sculpture in the MSU Horticulture Gardens

Liberty Hyde Bailey Sculpture Showing Signs of Degradation

Your Support Will Make A Big Difference

We are running a CrowdPower campaign to help raise funds to restore this treasured art. Your support will supply a significant portion of the money needed ($17,200) to repair this treasure. The money raised from this project will go directly towards the Bailey sculpture restoration costs. The restoration of Bailey includes an art restoration firm cleaning, repatinating, sealing, and waxing the bronze. This will protect the metal from further corrosion, give it better overall visual continuity, and make it much easier to maintain.

Background

Liberty Hyde Bailey was one of America’s greatest horticultural minds. Born and raised on a fruit farm in Michigan, he earned his undergraduate degree in Botany at Michigan Agricultural College (MAC; now MSU) in 1882. A few years later, he established the first horticulture department in the U.S. at MAC and served as its professor and chair. Bailey was a gifted and enthusiastic botanist, taxonomist, philosopher, writer, and teacher and is considered by most to be the Father of Modern Horticulture.

To honor this renowned 19th century horticulturist, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Sculpture Plaza was established in the MSU Horticulture Gardens in 1993 by two generous donors. The plaza features a bronze life-size statue of Bailey sculpted by a Michigan artist and is the largest and most prominent statue in the 14-acre Gardens complex. Countless students, faculty, staff, and visitors take selfies with Bailey each year and often pick a flower in the gardens and place it in his hands.

Over the years, the Bailey statue has experienced extensive degradation of its finishes. Of particular concern is the face and inside of the figure’s trousers, where rivulets of water have left pronounced vertical streaks. Left unchecked, these oxidative mineral deposits will etch into the bronze, permanently disfiguring the statue. We are seeking support to restore this treasure.