Knoxville, Tennessee

The Knoxville National Cemetery was established in 1863 by famed Civil War General Ambrose Burnside. The most notable monument on-site is the Union Soldiers Monument. The original monument, completed in 1901, was sadly destroyed by lighting in 1904, but was re-built through diligent fund-raising and construction efforts by 1906. Today, the Union Soldiers Monument stands 60 feet tall, built of local gray-pink Tennessee marble in a Gothic Revival style. A tower rises over a low, turreted base, topped by an over-life size figure of a soldier at the ready. Two arched entrances guarded by wrought iron gates lead into a small memorial chamber within the base, lined with inscribed marble panels and a stained glass window.

After over a century of exposure, the monument was beginning to show signs of deterioration. The existing roofs were failing, allowing destructive moisture to enter themonument. Existing mortar was cracking or the joints open entirely. Atmospheric soiling and thick mineral crusts had accumulated on stone surfaces. Cracks and dimensional losses had developed in the marble. The iron gates and window frame exhibited rusting and coating failure.

In 2009, Conservation Solutions, Inc. (CSI) was contracted to conserve the Union Soldiers monument. Atmospheric and biological soiling were removed through detergent washing and water rinsing. Dense mineral accumulations were removed through a combination of mild water misting, followed by detail cleaning of any residual crusts using carefully controlled micro-abrasives. Cracked and open joints were pointed using a custom color mixed mortar, tooled to match the existing. Areas of stone loss were repaired through composite patching or by installing a dutchman of matching stone stock, profiled and finished to match the existing. Metal elements were blast-cleaned of rust and re-coated with a high-performance coating. New EPDM roofing installed to prevent recurring moisture infiltration. The stone tile floor was re-honed to remove deposits and excessive grinder marks from at inappropriate previous cleaning attempts, successfully restoring the clarity of color and design to the vault floor. The treatment procedures were thoroughly documented.

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Littleton, Colorado

At the request of the Littleton Museum, Conservation Solutions, Inc. performed an assessment of Solar III, concrete masonry unit (CMU) and painted stucco sculpture by the artist Edgar Britton. The white abstract sculpture is composed of three distinct components – an 18’ tall stele with a round penetration, an offset arch, and a curved arched wall The sculpture was installed in the Gallup Gardens across from the Littleton Museum in 1976.

According to documents produced around the time of installation, the sculpture was finished with a stucco containing fine white marble dust which gave it a brilliant glow in the sunlight. Not long after the sculpture was installed there were complaints of vandalism damage and “telegraphing” of the mortar joints through the stucco finish. Today the original finish surface is obscured by multiple stucco repair campaigns and modern paint coatings. The assessment was aimed at determining the root cause of failure in the stucco surface and a means of repairing damage and reversing inappropriate interventions.

One of the more obvious conditions plaguing the sculpture is the extensive network of cracks and disbondment of the stucco finish. This situation is worst on the curved wall but is present to a lesser degree in the stele and arch. Probes into the curved wall confirmed that the wall is constructed of unreinforced concrete block set using a stack bond over an insufficient footing. Rising damp has mobilized salts in original and repair materials which have been trapped by the modern paint coatings. Subflorescence is causing the stucco to detach from the CMU.

Testing was limited to a scope that would help inform the treatment recommendations provided, including finish analysis, mortar testing and in situ absorption tests. A budgetary cost estimate was provided to assist with financial planning for the future conservation of the sculpture.

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Jefferson Building, Library of Congress, Washington, District of Columbia

The Neptune Fountain consists of heroic scaled bronze figures of the sea god surrounded by nereids, nympths and a managerie of real and mythical sea creatures, set on rough granite boulders within a pool at the west end of the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress.  As part of a team under the direction of Wisnewski Blair Architects Conservation Solutions studied the conditions and made preliminary recommendations for the protection and treatment of the bronzes during planned waterproofing and fountain upgrade work.

The study encompassed a survey of existing conditions, review of documents relavent to the fountain’s historic and renovated design and operation,  and coordination with structural and waterproofing consultants to determine the best means of estabilishing a waterproof recirculating fountain that minimizes water losss, maintains the appropriate historic appearance of the display, and protects the bronze and stone elements. Recommendations were studied for modifications to all of the elements as needed to ensure that work can occur without causing damage to the bronzes while meeting all of the needs. This includes appropriate water treatment means, equipment materials and selection, location of the sculptural components within the pool, water display and depth, and maintenance practices. The report will be integrated into the restoration plans for the fountain in the next phase.

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Baltimore, Maryland

Built in the 1870’s in the Second Empire style, the Baltimore City Hall is a grand example of the civic pride and financial stature of the then-grand city. The marble building occupies an entire city block. Its impressive portico is supported by six fluted Corinthian columns and set off with four multi- headed bronze lanterns. Originally gas, the lanterns now shine with electrical illumination.

As part of an overall restoration of the façade, Conservation Solutions, Inc (CSI) was contracted to restore the lanterns and capitals of the columns.  Numerous small castings and elements had been lost from the ornate lanterns, glass was missing or been replaced with plain rather than beveled glass, and the surfaces had acquired the typical appearance of under-maintained bronze. The capitals had suffered from advanced “sugaring” and developed structural cracks that represented life-safety concerns.

 CSI conservators removed the lanterns for treatment in an art foundry. Missing elements were recreated, new beveled glass was cut and installed, and the lighting was up-graded. All surfaces were cleaned and coated with a conservation grade hot-applied wax. The capitals were cleaned with water misting and mirco-air abrasion. Stainless steel dowels were installed to stabilize cracks and potentially fragile foliate pendants were wired to the body of the capitals to avoid later losses. Cracks and losses were filled with lime-based grout and mortar.

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Coral Gables, “The City Beautiful” was planned and developed during Miami’s land boom in the 1920’s and immediately became an icon of the good life that Florida promised. The Coral Gables Fire and Police Station was built to a design by Phineas Paist, one of the original architects of the town, in 1936. The unique solid ashlar coral stone structure is embellished with exterior busts and brackets in cast stone and interior Cuban Tile elements (decorative pre-cast concrete panels). This National Historic Landmark is being restored and updated to serve as the Coral Gables Museum.

The conversion represents a challenge to the project designers. The coral stone and interior Cuban tiles have deteriorated noticeably due to moisture infiltration. The porous nature of the stone makes the museum’s goal of providing climate controlled exhibition grade spaces particularly challenging. The stone’s unusual texture, along with its predilection for staying moist, also made the exterior extremely hospitable the accumulation of soiling, biological and substantial vegetative growth.

Conservation Solutions, Inc. (CSI) was contracted to help restore the masonry structure. All exterior surfaces were cleaned to remove soiling, biota and vegetation. Ferrous and other inappropriate anchors were removed and patched. Losses to cast stone units were rebuilt and sculpted to match the existing. Following extensive development and refinement, a lime-based parge was applied to all exterior stone surfaces to limit water infiltration through the porous ashlar units. The fills were designed to complement the specific physical characteristics of the stone, while remaining sufficiently recessed so that the unique coral texture remained legible. Low-toxicity and natural products were emphasized in this LEED-certified project.

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Conservation Solutions, Inc. (CSI) treated three monumental bronze sculptures by Fernando Botero that were on temporary exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg, Florida in 2010.  Each bronze: Hand, The Rape of Europa, Smoking Woman, had the characteristic fine finish, bulbous forms and troubliing presence of the best of Botero’s work. They were displayed as part of a comprehensive exhibition of paintings, drawings, and sculpture by the artist at the museum.

Exposure to the Florida sun and handling wear during the traveling show had caused each work to lose some of its protective wax coating and suffer minor damages to the foundry applied patinas. CSI work with Gulf Coast Art Conservation to clean the works, retouch the damages,  and apply a new coating of specially formulated wax using the hot wax method. Work was performed on the museum grounds during the exhibition.

 Each sculpture was carefully cleaned using anionic detergents and water. Care was taken to avoid disturbing previous repairs during this process and the rewaxing. After drying, each sculpture was heated with propane torches and the new wax coating was applied. The wax is formulated to resist the heat that the bronze is subject to while still being removable. It also includes corrosion inhibitors to further protect the bronze. Work was completed in April of 2010.

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El Paso, Texas

Lady Justice is the survivor of two zinc sculptures acquired to adorn the roof of the El Paso County Courthouse in 1886. Although no makers stamp was found, this sculpture is almost certainly a production of the W. H. Mullins Company, based on its similarity to a well-documented Mullins catalog.  The County razed the Courthouse in 1917 and Lady Justice was relocated to various sites over the next 90 years, most recently into an indoor facility to prevent further decay.  

Cast and wrought zinc was commonly used for monumental and decorative statuary just prior to the turn of the 20th century.  Zinc, a metal less costly and easier to cast than bronze, offered the public an opportunity to purchase decorative statuary capable of mimicking more valuable statuary materials (bronze, stone) at a fraction of the cost.   However, cast and sheet zinc proved to be less permanent than it was originally claimed to be and its use in sculpture declined in the early 20th century.

Conservation Solutions, Inc. (CSI) was engaged in 2010 to perform a condition assessment of the sculpture. The objectives of the condition assessment were to document the present condition of the sculpture, make recommendations for its conservation, and provide a budgetary cost estimate for the recommended work.  The hollow sculpture is fabricated from sheet zinc and assembled using solder to form a continuous skin. Lady Justice once raised a set of scales in her left hand and held a sword in her right, both now missing. The sculpture stands approximately 93” from the top of her crown to the bottom of her feet and weighs approximately 200 lbs.

Major conditions and failures were documented, including wholly lost elements, minor voids and cracks, metal fatigue, corrosion, and a thick accumulation of failing coatings.  Paint analysis  documented over a dozen layers of white and off-white paint layers over a gray primer, possibly suggesting that the finish was intended to imitate marble.  Treatment recommendations  included specific guidelines for coatings removal, metal reforming and repair, fabrication of a new internal support system, surface preparation and re-coating with a high performance paint system.

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The Allied Textile Printing (ATP) site is a unique property with a long and storied history.  The site is located adjacent to the Great Falls on the Passaic River in Paterson, New Jersey, one of the largest waterfalls in the United States.  The vast potential of the falls to generate waterpower and thereby industry was recognized early on by Alexander Hamilton, who established a corporation of manufacturers to develop the site.  In the centuries since, the site has been occupied by a variety of industrial tenants, most notably associated with silk and textile manufacturing, as well as an early Colt Gun mill.  With the decline of industry in the last quarter of the 20^th century, the site was finally abandoned circa 1980.  Because the largest pieces of equipment would have been exorbitantly difficult to relocate, most were left onsite. 

Since then, the site has suffered at least a dozen catastrophic fire, leaving most of the structures in ruin and the surviving artifacts highly exposed to the environment.  In 2009, the ATP site, along with the Great Falls, were established as a National Historical Park, prompting plans to identify, preserve and interpret significant aspects of the site.  In 2010, Conservation Solutions, Inc., was engaged to perform a condition assessment and make treatment recommendations for a variety of industrial artifacts on-site.  Conservators performed a building-by-building survey; high-priority artifacts such as major boilers and tanks were identified, assessed, and thoroughly documented.  Other more numerous artifacts were grouped by type or theme, and assessed based on general conditions.  A hierarchy of recommendations was developed to address varying tiers of significance, interpretation, and levels of intervention.  As plans for the park develop, it is hoped that it may be possible to preserve some of these elements in situ, maintaining the historic link between the artifacts and this significant site.

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