Pascal sculpture on display at Dunbar Community Fest

Visitors to the Dunbar Community Fest on Saturday will have a chance to view the large glass sculpture that is being placed in the Pascal annex to the Dunbar Historical Society at 42 Bridge St. in the borough.

“(The sculpture) is the tour-de-force of her (Pascal's) life,” said Donna Myers, historical society secretary.

According to Myers, Suzanne Pascal was born in Montana in 1914 of a French father and Irish mother. She was deaf and her mother found she could communicate with the girl through drawings. Her mother determined the girl had talent and sent her to Europe to study painting.

Through surgery, the young Pascal was able to recover some of her hearing. She began to find success as a painter, selling her art on the streets of Paris. She also dabbled in steel sculptures. But she wanted to carve glass.

That brought the artist to Dunbar when a friend told her of the chunks of glass found on the floor of the closed Pennsylvania Wire Glass Co. The plant closed in 1955.

The glass sculpture, reportedly the largest in the world, was carved from a single piece of scrap glass by Pascal with a hammer and chisel. Pascal began carving her “Seated Torso” in 1960-61 in Dunbar from a single, 4,000-pound piece of green glass left in the furnace of the glass company.

Later, she had the 2-ton piece of glass shipped to her Beverly Hills, Calif., home. She spent 10 years working on the carving, which now weighs 2,800 pounds.

Pascal was told it is impossible to carve glass with a hammer and chisel, but the glass made in Dunbar became tempered, making it strong enough to carve.

Pascal also began carving the smaller pieces of glass found on the floor.

Most of her glassworks have sold for between $10,000 and $300,000; a Madonna can be found at the Vatican and her patrons include many political and entertainment personalities. A Pascal-carved glass horse with solid gold mane was purchased by Armand Hammer, who gave it to Prince Charles and Princess Diana on their wedding day.

“Seated Torso” was purchased by billionaire John Kluge for $3 million in 1994, according to Myers. He moved it to his winery in Charlottesville, Va., and placed it in the center of a fountain in his Morven Carriage House.

Kluge died in 2010. Donald Trump purchased his estate in 2011. Eric Trump, Donald Trump's son, now runs the winery. It was about this time that Myers placed a question on Askart.com seeking information on the Seated Torso. No response was received until the head winemaker at the now Trump Vineyard Winery found the two-year-old question and contacted her on the website in 2013.

Kerry Woolard, general manager of the winery, called Myers and offered the Seated Torso to the Dunbar Historical Society. The society raised the funds needed to remove the sculpture from the carriage house and have it transported to Dunbar. After arriving back in Dunbar, the sculpture was stored at the Dunbar Volunteer Fire Department.

This year, work began on the annex that houses the sculpture. The annex had to be built for the sculpture because the floor of the historical society building is not strong enough.

“I'm just amazed that that piece traveled from Dunbar to California to Virginia and back again,” said Diana Homer, historical society vice president.

“We're very fortunate that we are able to have it (the sculpture) returned to Dunbar after 60 years and all of the history that surrounds it,” said Pat Trimbath, historical society member.

“It was a pretty big project,” said Dennis Morrison, historical society member. “It moved from Dunbar to California to Virginia, then back to Dunbar.”

Pascal, now 101, contacted through her daughter, said she will be unable to come to Dunbar for the Dunbar Community Fest, which will be held Friday through Sunday. However, she hopes to be able to return when the museum holds a grand opening for the Pascal annex.

Zane Miller of Miller Home Improvement of Dunbar and his wife, Billie Jo, have donated their services in making a pedestal for the sculpture.

The annex is not complete. Donors may send their tax-deductible donations to Dunbar Historical Society, Box 366, Dunbar, PA 15431.

As for the former glass plant, not much remains.

Trimbath walked up recently to the location on Hardy Hill Road where the factory was located. There is not much at the location now, except some of the foundation, he said.

In addition to the sculpture in the annex, the historical society has samples of the products on display that were produced at the glass plant.

Karl Polacek is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at kpolacek@tribweb.com or 724-626-3538.