ANNOUNCING: A new 5-Year GSA contract for the conservation of sculpture and architectural arts. Commences August 1, 2022. 2022-2027 U.S. General Services Administration - NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION ID/IQ Contract 47PM1122D0002 NTE: $16,009,998.00 (5 Year Total) NAICS Code 54130 (ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES)…
Justice for Wall: Treatment of Wood County Courthouse Murals
Stefan Dedecek, Conservator of Paintings, Murals, and Polychrome Surfaces, recently completed a conservation treatment of a painted wall mural at the Wood County Courthouse in Bowling Green, Ohio. The mural before treatment, the surface appears dark and discolored. The painted…
Big Easy Sculpture Restoration in New Orleans
The City of New Orleans has been called the "Big Easy" among other nicknames. Recently, Marcin Pikus, Conservator of Stone Sculpture and Architectural Features of McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory, performed sculpture restoration in New Orleans. The sculptures were big, but…
Conservation Treatment of a River of Rust
Outside of the United States Geological Survey Building in Menlo Park, California beats the sound of Watersongs, 1996 by Douglas Hollis. The dynamic large-scale artwork features granite walls, steel railings and fences, seating, and a fountain composed of natural boulders.…
Corn, Wind, Broken Glass and Preventive Conservation in Iowa
Preventive conservation often involves environmental monitoring, the use of archival materials and storage, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), but it can also include installation of physical barriers to protect a work of art. Christina L. Simms, Conservator of Sculpture and Objects,…
Brownstone Treatment and Survey at the President’s Guest House in Washington, DC.
Marcin Pikus, Conservator of Stone Sculpture and Architectural Features, provided some emergency conservation repairs for the crumbling exterior sandstone of the President's Guest House, also known as the Blair House, in Washington, DC. He also conducted a condition survey of…
Marble Conservation and a Police Chase
Two marble benches from Indiana were brought to the McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory campus for a marble conservation treatment. Why the benches arrived at our conservation lab facilities just outside of Cleveland, Ohio is an unusual story that begins with…
Art Conservation of Painted Weathering Steel in Southern Ohio
Outdoor Sculpture Conservation, Public Art Conservation, Architectural Features Conservation: The Woodbourne Library in Centerville, Ohio just outside of Dayton has a unique architectural feature lining the south and west sides of the building: rows of painted boxes made from Cor-Ten,…
Birch Bayh Federal Building Marble Sculptures Get a Stone Conservation Cleaning
Stone Conservation, Sculpture Conservation, Architectural Features Conservation; In 1908 Scottish-American sculptor John Massey Rhind carved four Tennessee pink marble sculptures for the front of the Birch Bayh Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. These four large sculptures represented Industry, Agriculture,…
Stone Conservation Treatment at Cleveland Museum of Art
Stone Conservation, Architectural Features Conservation: The Cleveland Museum of Art is a world-class institution, known for its outstanding collection of over 45,000 objects. It is only right that a building with so much beauty within, should be beautiful on the…