Donors Push Stargazer Restoration Skyward

A donor presented the co-creator and steward of “Stargazer,” the famed but storm-damaged sculpture in Manorville with a $100,000 check Sunday to help fund the beloved artwork’s much-needed restoration.

Lindenhurst-based orthopedic surgeon Dr. Harvey Manes of the Manes American Peace Prize Foundation presented the check to David Morris, who fabricated “Stargazer” with his late life partner, artist Linda Scott. 

“This is a landmark, an icon, the gateway to the Hamptons,” said Dr. Manes, adding that he is “thrilled to be able to fund this project.” 

The 50-foot-tall sculpture of a deer head glancing toward the heavens with a branch in its mouth has been increasingly weather worn since being erected three decades ago. The metal, wood and stucco sculpture located on a sod farm off Route 111 incurred some of its worst damage when Tropical Storm Isaias left its frame partially exposed last year.

Manes’ donation is being funneled through the Brooklyn-based nonprofit Arete Living Arts Foundation. John Whiteman, the group’s executive director, felt compelled to help, recalling that Scott believed that the sculpture “symbolized a relationship between humanity and the universe.”

In addition to Dr. Manes’s donation, Morris also received a pledge for a $50,000 donation — $25,000 a year for the next two years — from The FLAG Art Foundation in Manhattan, as well as money donated directly to the Stargazer fund by art lovers through its GoFundMe page and through direct donations via lindascott.org/donate.

Morris, who said the work will start in a few weeks and be completed in a year, added that “Linda is happy and smiling upon us from above.”

To contribute to the Stargazer fund and help keep this beacon of Hamptons hope alive for generations to come, visit the GoFundMe website and search ‘Save the Stargazer’ or visit lindascott.org.