Joel Shapiro's Loss & Regeneration Sculpture

Joel Shapiro’s Loss and Regeneration poignantly reflects the disintegration of families and the countless lives interrupted by the Holocaust. Installed on the plaza along Raoul Wallenberg Place, the memorial consists of two bronze elements that engage in a powerful symbolic dialogue. The larger sculpture is a towering, abstract, tree-like form that evokes the presence of a human figure, while approximately 100 feet away, a smaller, house-like structure rests precariously upside down on its roof.

For more than a decade, EverGreene has worked in close partnership with the U.S. National Holocaust Memorial Museum to conserve the monumental bronze sculptures in the museum’s outdoor entry plaza. Our team conducted condition assessments in collaboration with the museum’s staff conservators, developed treatment recommendations, and carried out the conservation work.

Treatments include the removal of aged lacquer and wax coatings, localized spot-patination to address areas of deterioration, and the application of a new protective coating to safeguard the sculptures against environmental exposure and pedestrian interaction.