Lithuanian Cross, Hartford
Date2005
Mediumborn digital photography
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections
CopyrightIn Copyright
Object number2015.196.444.12-.13
DescriptionPhotographs of a tall traditional carved Lithuanian cross designed by Simas Augaitis and carved by Joseph Ambrozaitis that stood on the grounds of St. Joseph Cathedral in Hartford until ca. 2020. One of six crosses in Connecticut that were installed on the grounds of six Lithuanian churches. Three of the parishes offer services in Lithuanian language.
NotesSubject Note: Lithuanians immigrated to Connecticut in the 1890s for jobs in factories and farms and to escape Russian domination, settling in urban centers such as Hartford and Waterbury where the state’s largest concentration of Lithuanians are located. Putnam in eastern Connecticut has a Lithuanian nunnery where an archive is kept and festivals take place. Many farms in western Connecticut are still operated by Lithuanian families. Lithuanian cultural practices abound in Connecticut. Beautiful tall carved crosses designed by artists Simas Augaitis and Joseph Ambrozaitis once stood next to six Lithuanian churches in Connecticut cities; three of the parishes offer services in Lithuanian language. The long running radio program Tevynes Garsai /Sounds of the Homeland broadcasts every Sunday on WWUH/91.3 in Hartford. The Sisters of the Immaculate Conception Church is a convent and church staffed by Lithuanian nuns in Putnam CT. From 1936 they have served the Lithuanian community in southern New England, and maintain a library and beautiful museum of Lithuanian folk arts. The chapel is notable for its stained glass and a traditional Lithuanian wayside cross designed by Connecticut Lithuanian artists Simas Augaitis and built by Joseph Ambrozaitis. The order also maintains the Matulaitis Home, an assisted living facility for Lithuanian seniors. A school on the grounds once run by the church is now privately managed. The church holds an annual picnic in July, organized by the Lithuanian heritage/cultural camp that takes place there, Camp Neringa, featuring folk dancing, food, and workshops, tours of the site. The site also houses ALKA, the Lithuanian American Cultural Archive, an important collection of books, art, archives, and other materials gathered by several scholars and donors over the years. It is managed by the Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science.
Biographical Note: Gertruda and Juozas (Joseph) Ambrozaitis were talented Lithuanian woodcarvers who lived in Middlebury CT in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Gertruda sometimes collaborated on wooden art pieces with her cabinetmaker husband. Juozas (Joseph) Ambrozaitis was known in the Lithuanian community for carving large scale Lithuanian wayside crosses, based on designs created by his friend Simas Augaitis, that stood on the grounds of six Lithuanian parishes in Connecticut; at least two of these remain in place at Holy Trinity Church in Hartford and at St. Joseph’s Church in Waterbury. Gertruda and Joseph Ambrozaitis moved back to Lithuania in the mid-2000s. CCHAP displayed woodcarvings by Gertruda in the exhibit “Hidden Treasures: Works By Connecticut Master Traditional Artists” at the Connecticut Commission on the Arts Gallery in Hartford in 2001.
Biographical Note: Simas Augaitis (1917-2008) was a Lithuanian designer and accomplished artist in several genres. After coming to live in the US in 1949, he worked at Chase Brass and Copper Company in Waterbury, and developed a skill at etching and forming copper plates with his own designs. He had a special love for Lithuanian folk arts and would give friends his Easter eggs decorated with traditional and personal designs based on Lithuanian motifs he knew as a child practicing this tradition. He fashioned jewelry out of amber, a beloved Baltic stone. Simas also designed exquisitely carved wooden pieces, including jewelry boxes, picture frames, models of wayside crosses, and actual full sized crosses that stood on the grounds of six Lithuanian parishes in Connecticut. These large crosses were carved in Lithuanian style by his friend Joseph Ambrozaitis to Simas’ designs; at least two of these remain in place at Holy Trinity Church in Hartford and at St. Joseph’s Church in Waterbury. Simas also carved the shutters of his house in Watertown in a style often seen in the Lithuanian countryside; his lovingly tended tulips were also a link to his Lithuanian roots. His work was the subject of a paper given by architectural historian Milda Richardson, Northeastern University College of Arts, Media & Design: “The Cemetery Art of Simas Augaitis,” at the Gravestone Studies Association conference at Rivier College, Nashua, NH, June 2007 as part of her work with the UNESCO, Centre and Research Institute for Lithuanian Folk Culture. CCHAP displayed a beautiful model wayside cross carved by Simas Augaitis in the exhibit “Hidden Treasures: Works By Connecticut Master Traditional Artists” at the Connecticut Commission on the Arts Gallery in Hartford in 2001.
Additional materials exist in the CCHAP archive for these artists.
Cataloging Note: This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-245929-OMS-20.
Status
Not on view
2002 July 28