Adrienne Françoise de Noailles receives warm welcome to Lafayette College

By Bryan Hay 

With joy and forward-looking optimism, Lafayette College welcomed Adrienne Françoise de Noailles to its campus Saturday, March 7, celebrating her presence with her partner and the College’s namesake, and thus memorializing a permanent reminder of its Bicentennial celebration for generations to come.

Applause and cheers rang out from the large crowd gathered outside the entrance to Skillman Library as a maroon cover was pulled away from the eagerly awaited over-life-size bronze sculpture of Adrienne, the last work by pioneering American artist Audrey Flack (1931–2024), which the College commissioned for its Bicentennial.

Allie Waxman ’28, president of student government, joins President Nicole Hurd in unveiling Adrienne at Skillman Library on March 7. | Photo by Ashli Truchon Novak

“This is a historic moment for the College. Our landscape will change forevermore with the addition of this exceptional woman,” said President Nicole Hurd. Hurd emphasized to the audience, whose attendees ranged from students and Trustees to Flack’s family and colleagues, that Adrienne was a champion of human rights and abolition alongside her husband, and sustained her family and causes through extraordinary personal sacrifice. 

Joining Hurd for the unveiling were Robert Mattison, Metzgar Professor of Art History Emeritus; artist Brian Booth Craig, Flack’s longtime studio assistant; and Allie Waxman ’28, president of Student Government. 

(L-R): Robert Mattison, Metzgar Professor of Art History Emeritus; artist Brian Booth Craig, Audrey Flack’s longtime studio assistant; President Nicole Hurd; and Allie Waxman ’28, president of Student Government, formally welcome Adrienne to Lafayette College. | Photo by Ashli Truchon Novak

Sitting atop a pedestal of Pennsylvania bluestone, matching the material used in the construction of the library, the 350-pound sculpture, 42 inches tall and 36 inches wide, depicts Adrienne in her early adulthood, with a downward glance as if to greet students at one of the busiest areas on campus. She is not far away from the monument of an equally youthful Marquis de Lafayette standing in full military uniform on the south side of Colton Chapel. 

“As we begin our third century, may the sculpture look over this Quad on days such as Convocation, Commencement, and Reunion, but also on routine days, the every day,” Hurd said. “May it serve as a reminder that on this campus devoted to the liberal arts and higher learning, we are bound by partnership, the promise of freedom, of using our voices, of learning, and that together we can, in fact, heal and change the world.”

She emphasized how the College’s Bicentennial celebrates history and hope for the future, citing multiple reasons to be grateful on the day of dedication.

“For the Marquis and for Adrienne, for their courage, their belief in liberty, freedom, and the promise of our country. For their beauty, their profound partnership, and their belief in one another. For the citizens of Easton, so inspired by Lafayette and the causes he shared with Adrienne that they started our beloved College, which we celebrate in this our Bicentennial year,” she said.

A large crowd gathered outside Skillman Library to receive Adrienne. | Photo by Ashli Truchon Novak

The dedication marked the completion of a more than a decade-long journey for the Adrienne bust to reach the College, a powerful closing moment to the Council of Lafayette Women Conference and a fitting kickoff to Founders’ Week.

In recognition of the conference and the College’s legacy, Hurd acknowledged the dedicated people who supported the growth of Lafayette through its early years leading up to coeducation in 1970, and the women and other students of all backgrounds who have excelled on campus and out in the world. 

President Nicole Hurd shares a quiet moment with Adrienne after the dedication. | Photo by Ashli Truchon Novak

Before the unveiling, guests filled Colton Chapel for a panel discussion, “The Making of Adrienne,” bringing together people who were intimately connected to the creation and completion of Flack’s work and her distinguished, expansive career as a sculptor and photorealist.

The panel was moderated by Elaine Stomber ’89, P’17,’21, co-director of College Archives and Distinctive Collections, who worked closely with Flack and whom Hurd thanked for helping make the sculpture possible.  

Hear from the panelists

Before the unveiling, guests filled Colton Chapel for a panel discussion, “The Making of Adrienne.” | Photo by Ashli Truchon Novak

Robert Mattison, Metzgar Professor of Art History Emeritus, a longtime colleague of Flack’s, helped arrange her Richard A. and Rissa W. Grossman Visiting Artist residency in 2015 and satisfied her growing interest in learning more about Adrienne and why she wasn’t represented on campus. Mattison introduced Hurd to the artist in 2023, and they instantly bonded over their shared interest in the divine and representation of women, a relationship that ultimately led to the Bicentennial Art Commission.

“She [Flack] would have just loved this event. But I feel that here we are channeling Audrey’s spirit, just as she channeled the spirit of Adrienne. Audrey wished for the sculpture to speak to the entire community and inspire them with the arts, and particularly for the women at Lafayette and this great, great history of women at Lafayette.”

Diane Shaw, College archivist emeritus, has written extensively on Adrienne and introduced Flack to biographical and artistic sources in the archives, and also saw the first model of Adrienne from the artist. 

“I truly appreciate the Adrienne that we will be unveiling today. I think Audrey has given us a complex portrait of a woman who knew both joy and sorrow during her extraordinary life.”

Brian Booth Craig, Flack’s longtime assistant, completed the Adrienne sculpture at her request.

“Lafayette College got a very, very special work from an artist of her stature, with such a long career and so many variants in what she did in terms of painting style and sculpture. To have the last work of art is really remarkable, and to be the one tasked with completing it is both a big responsibility, but an honor as well, and very personal for me.”

Artist Brian Booth Craig, with Diane Shaw, reflects on the Adrienne sculpture, which he was assigned to finish by Audrey Flack, his friend and mentor. | Photo by Ashli Truchon Novak

Samantha Baskind, distinguished professor of art history at Cleveland State University, is a board member of the Audrey Flack Foundation, and Flack’s principal biographer.

“Audrey was so excited about this project. The more she thought about it, the more excited she was. She was a feminist powerhouse in her day. One of her mantras was ‘mother,’ and that was an important part of Audrey’s identity, and making a difference as a feminist and making a difference as a rebel, and she really saw a connection between her and Adrienne in some way.”