Published by the Smithsonian EverGreene is proud to announce the publication of a new volume of “Smithsonian Contributions to Museum Conservation” series that brings together papers presented at the first-ever conservation conference solely dedicated to aluminum – “Aluminum: History, Technology and Conservation” – held at the Smithsonian Institution’s American Art Museum in 2014. The paper features the work coauthored by…
United States Marine Corps, Parris Island, SC 2019 Preserving U.S. Military Heritage Conference, Fredericksburg, TX, June 4-6, 2019 Authors: Joseph Sembrat and Mark Rabinowitz Abstract The Iwo Jima Monument located at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, is a one-third scale model of the well-known United States Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima…
Who are America’s four best-loved actresses? If you answered Ethel Barrymore, Marilyn Miller, Mary Pickford and Rosa Ponselle—admittedly, a long shot—you’re going to be delighted to know that four diminutive marble statues of these larger-than-life theatrical figures have returned to their golden niches in the landmark I. Miller Building at Broadway and West 46th Street. The statues, by Alexander Stirling…
Presented at the Mid-Century Modern Structures: Materials and Preservation Symposium April 14-16, 2015 in St. Louis, Missouri Justine P. Bello, Caroline Guay, Tom McDowell, Mark Rabinowitz, Joseph Sembrat While the influence of the machine age on architecture and design is well known, seen in the streamlining of the Art Deco and Modernist styles, the “space age” is more a cliché…
Authors: Mark Rabinowitz & Carol Grissom From the mid-1850s through the early 20th century zinc statues proliferated in the United States, with a few even dedicated after World War II. Most were purchased for smaller towns or organizations without the financial resources to purchase unique and more expensive bronze statues that they were intended to resemble. While the zinc can…
A careful investigation of the conditions is required before recommendations can be made for treatments to repair architectural terra-cotta surfaces. The beauty of glazed terra cotta, with its rich palette of earth tones and glassy surface, has been exploited by architects to enliven building façades since very early times. In addition to the tonal variations inherent in fired-clay bodies, color…
Case Studies of the treatment of several fountains in a tropical environment Overcoming Challenges: Metal Exploration and Restoration A firm with a long history of decorative metal exploration and restoration discusses some of the problems and options available. Architectural metals – a building’s jewelry, consisting of ornate grilles, panels, doors, cornices and sculpture – create visual delight through intrinsic and…
Fountain Conservation Fundamentals July 10–11, 2013–Kansas City, MO Author: Mark Rabinowitz Fountain conservation requires treating historic elements within an active and public environment whose operational needs may directly conflict with those of the preservation of the fountain’s materials. Changes since their construction in visitor safety requirements, water conservation, ecological sustainability, and display goals also affect and interfere with the preservation…
Outside the Canon: A Review of Unique Approaches to Stone Conservation 12th International Congress on the Deterioration and Conservation of Stone Columbia University, New York, NY Authors: Justine Posluszny Bello, Daniel Lane, Mark Rabinowitz, Joseph Sembrat For the best of reasons, conservators tend to rely on tried and true means and methods when treating stone at the expense of innovation.…
The New York Public Library Statuary–Marble Deterioration & Conservation 12th International Congress on the Deterioration and Conservation of Stone Columbia University, New York, NY Authors: Mark Rabinowitz & John Carr Created by 4 different sculptors, the marble sculptures at the New York Public Library’s east façade demonstrate how a variety of styles (Classical, Impressionist, Baroque, and idiosyncratic) and diversity of…
American Institute for Conservation, Objects Group, Norfolk, VA, 1995 Author: Mark Rabinowitz In the 1980’s, the Central Park Conservancy began the project of restoring the 33 masonry arches that are an important functional and decorative component of Central Park. These structures were designed by Calvert Vaux with the assistance of Jacob Wrey Mould to carry the carriage road over cross…
Conservation of Large-Scale Metal Artifacts Authors: Justine Posluszny Bello, Patricia Miller, Mark Rabinowitz, Joseph Sembrat The conservation of large-scale metal artifacts presents many challenges, the least of which is size. From inspection through treatment and beyond, the conservator must develop a regimen both thorough enough from a conservation viewpoint yet practical enough to be implemented on a large-scale and possibly…
Gilding at the Smithsonian, Washington, DC September 23, 2006 Author: Mark Rabinowitz This is not a review of a conservation treatment per se. I was not a party to the treatment about which the questions I would like to discuss revolved. My involvement in this project began only after the work had been completed, when I was engaged by the…
Where the Structure and Associated Features, Interiors, Gardens, and Outdoor Sculpture, Are Major Components of the Collection Author: Mark Rabinowitz In historic house museums, museums housed within historic structures, and those with extensive outdoor art collections integrated into the buildings and grounds, the normal divisions between collections and facilities break down. Maintaining ideal environmental conditions from a collections standpoint may…
The History and Conservation of Jefferson Davis McKissack’s Orange Show This lecture was part of the Divine Disorder Conference on the Conservation of Outsider Folk art that was organized and hosted by NCPTT. The conference was held February 15–16, 2012 on the campus of Northwestern University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. The Orange Show is a folk-art environment located in Houston’s East…
The Conservation of a 17 Ton Section of the Hull Recovered from the RMS Titanic Wreck-site and an Evaluation of the Treatment Three Years Later 2003 APTI Conference, Portland, ME, September 2003 Author and Speaker: Joseph Sembrat At 6:18pm on 10 August 1998 a heavily encrusted piece of iron wreckage emerged into the air for the first time in 86…
The Association for Preservation Technology International Annual Meeting, Monterey, CA, USA, October 2001 Author and Speaker: Joseph Sembrat The Barnard Statuary Group is located at the main entrance to the Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The two Carrara marble groups were carved in Pietrasanta, Italy from 1903 to 1911 by the Piccirilli Brothers of New York. Each monumental…
The salvage and treatment of a significant section of the Titanic illustrate the great logistical and technological challenges associated with the conservation of a monumental iron artifact recovered from a marine environment. Conservation of the RMS Titanic “Big Piece”: A Case Study and Critical Evaluation Author(s): JOSEPH SEMBRAT, PATRICIA MILLER and JUSTINE POSLUSZNY BELLO Source: APT Bulletin: The Journal of…