Editing World Monuments Fund (section)

===International Fund for Monuments (1965–1984)===

The International Fund for Monuments (IFM) was an organization created by Colonel James A. Gray (1909–1994) after his retirement from the [[U.S. Army]] in 1960. Gray had conceived of a visionary project to arrest the settlement of the [[Leaning Tower of Pisa]] by freezing the soil underneath, and he formed the organization in 1965 as a vehicle for the implementation of this idea. Even though this project did not materialize, an opportunity arose for the young organization to participate in the conservation of the [[Rock cut architecture|rock-hewn]] churches of [[Lalibela]] in [[Ethiopia]]. In 1966 Gray secured the support of philanthropist [[Lila Acheson Wallace]] (1889–1984), who offered $150,000 to the International Fund for Monuments and [[UNESCO]] (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) for this project. The project continued until the Communist overthrow of [[Haile Selassie I]] and the subsequent expulsion of foreigners from Ethiopia. After Ethiopia, Gray's interests shifted to [[Easter Island|Easter Island (Rapa Nui)]] off the coast of [[Chile]]. Gray formed the "Easter Island Committee", with Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer [[Thor Heyerdahl]] (1914–2002) as its honorary chairman. Gray arranged to have one of the monolithic human figures known as ''[[moai]]'' exhibited in the United States. With the help of anthropologist [[William Mulloy]] (1917–1978), Gray selected an {{convert|8|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}}, five-ton head, which was exhibited in front of the [[Seagram Building]] in New York and in the [[Pan American Union Building]] in Washington, D.C.

[[Image:GokarnaMahadevTemple.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Gokarna Mahadev Temple|The Mahadev Temple in [[Gokarna, Nepal|Gokarna]], [[Nepal]], a conservation project of the International Fund for Monuments.]]
An important chapter for the organization started with its involvement in the broad international effort led by UNESCO for the protection of the city of [[Venice]], [[Italy]] from catastrophic flooding. After the extremely high tide of 4 November 1966, the city, including the historic [[Piazza San Marco]], was inundated for more than 24 hours. The International Fund for Monuments set up a "Venice Committee", with Professor John McAndrew (1904–1978) of [[Wellesley College]] as chairman and Gray as executive secretary. On the part of the committee, appeals were made to the American public, and local chapters set up in American cities. This early initiative led to the formation of the independent organization Save Venice in 1971.<ref>"[https://www.savevenice.org/about/history-mission History & Mission: History]". Save Venice. savevenice.org. Retrieved 21 November 2018.</ref> These efforts helped establish a reputation for IFM. In [[Spain]], the organization formed a Committee for Spain under the leadership of American diplomat and [[United States Ambassador to Spain|U.S. Ambassador to Spain]] in 1965–67 [[Angier Biddle Duke]] (1915–1995).

At the invitation of UNESCO in the 1970s, IFM became involved in architectural conservation in [[Nepal]], where the organization adopted the Mahadev temple complex in [[Gokarna, Nepal|Gokarna]], in Nepal's [[Kathmandu Valley]]. The 14th-century temple building was surveyed, rotten timbers were replaced, and the foundations were strengthened. Sculpted wooden architectural elements were painstakingly cleaned of layers of a [[motor oil]] coating that had been applied annually for protection.

[[Image:Citadelle Laferrière.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Aerial view of the Citadelle Laferrière|Aerial view of the [[Citadelle Laferrière]], in northern [[Haiti]], a conservation project of the World Monuments Fund (1985–87).]]Also at the request of UNESCO, IFM launched a project for the preservation of the [[Citadelle Laferrière]], a large mountaintop [[fortress]] near [[Milot, Haiti|Milot]], [[Haiti]]. The site was the keystone of a defensive system constructed in the early period of Haitian independence to protect the young state from French attempts to reclaim it as a  colony. Local artisans reconstructed wooden and tile roofs over the grand gallery and batteries using traditional carpentry methods, and consolidated the stone galleries of the fortress. IFM also sponsored a traveling exhibition and a film about the history of the ''Citadelle'', which was used for educational purposes in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wmf.org/publication/world-monuments-fund-first-thirty-years|author= World Monuments Fund|date= 1996|title=World Monuments Fund: The First Thirty Years|location= New York, NY|publisher= World Monuments Fund |pages= 10–21}}</ref>