Saint-Gaudens Memorial announces first exhibition of the 2026 season
The Saint-Gaudens Memorial presents photographer Leslie Lyman’s exhibition, The Work Beneath the Work, at Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park in Cornish, New Hampshire. The exhibition will be installed in the Picture Gallery at the park from late spring through mid-August.
Leslie Lyman’s photographs and installations focus on the everyday lives and objects of women. She is particularly drawn to the unrecorded hidden work, stories, and material culture of women throughout history. Inspired by the Picture Gallery setting at Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, where the home, garden, art works and studios of Augustus Saint-Gaudens are preserved and presented, Lyman addresses the “work beneath the work,” as she alludes to the nurturing and caregiving provided by the artist’s wife, Augusta, to support the sculptor’s career. A thoughtful selection of objects and settings – old and new – suggest stories to be passed on. Lyman’s practice is one of deliberate documentation, intended to increase awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the enduring and necessary labor of nurturing that helps bring a work of art to fruition. She states “We know how to celebrate the accomplished artist, the visionary genius. We often forget to recognize the labor of others. If biographies truly told artists’ stories, they all would begin by asking: who helped you?”
Leslie Lyman is an award-winning photographer who has exhibited throughout New England and Great Britain. She holds a BA degree from Smith College in American Studies and an MFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She lives with her husband on Cape Ann in Massachusetts, where they raised four sons.
The Picture Gallery is located on park grounds at 139 Saint-Gaudens Road in Cornish, NH. Information about park hours and fees are on the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park website (nps.gov/saga).
Information regarding the exhibition opening reception and Picture Gallery hours are available on the Saint-Gaudens Memorial website (saint-gaudens.org).
Incorporated in 1919, the Saint-Gaudens Memorial is a nonprofit organization that promotes the legacy of Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) in active partnership with the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, which features the sculptor’s home, studios, gardens, and artworks. The Saint-Gaudens Memorial encourages appreciation of the arts past and present by annually sponsoring a summer concert series, art exhibitions and fellowships, and educational programs, as well as supporting the ongoing conservation and acquisition of objects for the park’s collections.
Contact: Abra Ancliffe, exhibitions@saint-gaudens.org