Sunday, November 13, 2011

Conserving Treasured Confederate 'Seasons' Murals

Via SHNV

A Richmond museum is using cotton and mason jars to protect its most unique display from nearly a century of aging. The low-tech solution to a highly-prized possession.

The Virginia Historical Society was granted $375,000 to clean and conserve Charles Hoffbauer's Memorial Military murals depicting Confederate leaders and soldiers during the spring, summer, autumn, and winter "seasons" of the American Civil War. The paintings have begun to lose their texture, clarity and color and are in need of repairs for the next 100 years, according to Jennifer Guild, a spokesperson for the VHS.

It is a delicate and painstaking process, she said. The work could take up to three years and is being done by the Richmond Conservation Studio. The conservators are repainting and repairing the oil paintings with Q-tips and mason jars filled with cleaning solution. They are working on each painting in a grid and using Hoffbauer's original sketches to help.

Museum visitors can watch the progress as the murals are cleaned daily. "We want people to see the process and the progress," she said. They fill nearly a bucket a day with discarded Q-tips. The canvas murals also need to be reattached to the wall, as they have pulled away and begun to bubble out in certain spots.

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Conserving Treasured Confederate 'Seasons' Murals

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