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)…
Conservation Assessment of Painted Sculpture in Puerto Rico
The building blocks of any successful conservation treatment is to first perform a condition assessment. Jim Gwinner, Conservator of Public Art and Sculpture, of McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory recently traveled perform a conservation assessment of painted sculpture in Puerto Rico.…
Conservation of Sol LeWitt Sculpture, Easy as 1,2,3
Christina L. Simms, Conservator of Objects and Sculpture, and Emmett Lodge, NACE Certified Coatings Inspector, both of McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory, recently completed a conservation treatment of One, Two, Three, 1979, by sculptor Sol LeWitt in Syracuse, New York. One,…
In Black and White: Conservation of a Calder Mobile
Conservation treatment is not always black and white, even if it is the colors of the object. In fact, there is often a lot of gray area for the preservation of cultural heritage works. This was the case for a…
Living the “Highline”: Recoating Lyman Kipp Sculpture
Highline by Lyman Kipp is a large abstract trabeated sculpture installed in the plaza of the James C. Corman Federal Building in Van Nuys, California. The artwork is made of steel and painted in a red and blue color scheme.…
The Nittany Lion Shrine Gets a New Shine
The Nittany Lion Shrine, 1942 by Heinz Warneke, an earlier assessment image The Nittany Lion Shrine is located on the University Park campus of the prestigious Pennsylvania State University. The sculpture features a boldly contoured limestone mountain lion poised to…
Firing up the Phantom Furnace Columns of Youngstown
Slowly, gently, night unfurls the splendor of the recently preserved Phantom Furnace Columns, 2002 by public artist Andrew Liecester. The artwork Phantom Furnace Columns serve as a metaphor for the blast furnaces that once stood in the mills of Youngstown,…
Lookin’ Good as Shell: Recoating “Large Escargot”
As part of an ongoing project for the Hartwood Acres Park sculpture restoration, McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory recently finished recoating a large outdoor sculpture, Large Escargot, 1982 by artist David Hayes. The sculpture is 17 feet high x 12 feet…
Conservation Unknown: Deconstructing the Methods and Materials of Luis Jiménez
Sometimes a conservation treatment is routine using familiar methods and materials to complete a project. Other times, treatments are complex and the methods are unknown for achieving stabilization of a work of art while at the same time returning it…
Recoating of Calder’s Stegosaurus at Toledo Museum Of Art
McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory recently completed a recoating of Alexander Calder's Stegosaurus (Intermediate Maquette) 1972 owned by the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio. Stegosarus Intermediate Maquette, 1972 by Alexander Calder is deinstalled at the Toldeo Museum of Art…