Fabricating Large-Scale Sculpture at Lippincott, Inc.

Why It Matters

Lipincot’s pioneering fabrication model proved essential for realizing and preserving large‑scale public art, shaping how institutions commission and maintain monumental works today.

Key Takeaways

• Lipincot pioneered dedicated art fabrication in mid‑1960s America
• Fabricators turned Klaus Oldenburg’s “Lipstick” from concept to reality
• Bank of America grant enabled recent conservation and relocation of sculpture
• 1960s public‑art funding (NEA, 1% program) spurred large‑scale commissions
• Lipincot’s 40,000‑image archive preserves early large‑scale sculpture history

Summary

The evening program at Yale University Art Gallery celebrated the reinstallation of Klaus Oldenburg’s iconic “Lipstick Ascending on Caterpillar Tracks,” highlighting the pivotal role of Lipincot, Inc. in fabricating the work and overseeing its recent conservation funded by a Bank of America grant.

Lipincot, founded in 1966 by Donald Lipincot and Roxanne Everett, was the first company dedicated exclusively to large‑scale art fabrication. By providing welders, mold makers, and engineers, the shop turned artists’ sketches into monumental sculptures, enabling projects like Oldenburg’s “Lipstick,” George Sugarman’s Baltimore Federal, and works by David Smith and Alexander Calder. Public‑art funding mechanisms such as the National Endowment for the Arts and 1% for Art programs created a financial climate that encouraged municipalities and institutions to commission these massive pieces.

The program featured a quote from philosopher Herbert Marcus, who argued that subversive, oversized sculptures could destabilize institutional authority. It also noted the 40,000‑image photographic archive donated to the Archives of American Art, which documents Lipincot’s collaborations and serves as a primary source for Jonathan Lipincot’s forthcoming book. The recent treatment addressed faded gloss coat and delamination, and the sculpture’s new placement in a less sun‑exposed courtyard improves both preservation and public accessibility.

The story underscores how specialized fabricators bridge artistic vision and industrial capability, ensuring that ambitious public artworks survive for future generations. As municipalities continue to invest in large‑scale installations, the Lipincot model demonstrates the critical need for dedicated fabrication expertise, conservation funding, and archival stewardship.

Original Description

To mark the installation of Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks at the Yale University Art Gallery, Jonathan D. Lippincott discusses the art fabricator Lippincott, Inc., based in North Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1966 by Jonathan’s father, Donald Lippincott, with Roxanne Everett, the company was the first of its kind, dedicated exclusively to collaborating with artists to realize large-scale sculpture. The studio transformed how monumental artworks could be fabricated, working with artists including Claes Oldenburg, Nancy Graves, Ellsworth Kelly, Marisol, Robert Murray, Louise Nevelson, Barnett Newman, and James Rosati, among many others. Jonathan explores the company’s founding, its partnership-based business model, and the collaboration, creativity, and material expertise that flourished in North Haven. Jonathan also considers Oldenburg’s long professional relationship with Lippincott, Inc., focusing on the fabrication of Lipstick and the sculpture’s care and maintenance over the past 50 years. Introduction by Anne Turner Gunnison, the Alan J. Dworsky Senior Associate Conservator of Objects. Following the talk, join us for a reception and celebration of Oldenburg’s Lipstick, newly installed in the Gallery’s sculpture garden. Generously sponsored by the Martin A. Ryerson Lectureship Fund.

Jonathan D. Lippincott began his publishing career in 1994 at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, where he enjoyed 25 years as a book designer. Since 1999 he has also worked independently, as principal at Lippincott Book Design and as an art director, designer, and packager on a range of illustrated books and catalogues about fine art, architecture, landscape, and design. Lippincott is the author of two books, Large Scale: Fabricating Sculpture in the 1960s and 1970s and the monograph Robert Murray: Sculpture.