From The Ashes

Like the age-old story of the phoenix rising from the ashes, “Stargazer,” the recently dilapidated bright red sculpture on County Road 111 in Eastport, will see new life.

Thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Manes American Peace Prize Foundation and its founder, Dr. Harvey Manes, who was recently honored by the Hamptons Fine Arts Fair for his good works, “Stargazer” will be resurrected — rebuilt from the bottom up and inside out.

According to David Morris, who helped construct the 50-foot-tall steel-and-wood abstract deer head, grasping an antler, the work of artist Linda Scott, in 1991, the donation, along with funds privately raised to save the sculpture, will ensure the iconic work’s existence for at least another 30 to 40 years.

That should be welcome news to East End residents — both year-round and full-time — who have, over the last three decades, come to see the familiar structure as a gatepost of sorts, announcing loudly to wayward travelers cutting south from the Long Island Expressway that they were almost home again, and, for visitors new to the area, letting them know they were soon to arrive in the “Hamptons.”

Those same residents and visitors should also be demonstrating their gratitude to the donors who made the restoration of the sculpture possible — most notably, Dr. Manes and his foundation — during a time of such unease and uncertainty.

They have proven the importance of art, and perhaps more importantly public art, that helps define, sometimes in small ways, the spirit of a community, one that can join together in hard times to preserve a slice of history, albeit the recent kind.

In drives by “Stargazer,” either coming or going, in the weeks and months ahead as the sculpture is rebuilt, East End residents should take a brief moment to recognize its importance to the community and say their thanks to those responsible for keeping its eyes on the stars.