Sculpture Cleaning

SCULPTURE CLEANING TRAINING

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Ward Parkway & W 68th Terrace

On July 29, 2017, the Adopt a Momument Committee and local volunteers gathered at Ward Parkway and 68th Terrace for training in how to clean marble sculptures. Paul Benson, a conservator at Nelson-Atkins Museum, gave a talk describing what kind of chemicals and tools one uses to clean a marble sculpture. He also described how to mix and use the chemicals and how to use the various cleaning utensils and tools.

After the training, the Committee and volunteers broke into two groups and each group went to one of the sculptures. After a couple of hours, both sculptures looked almost as good as new. The life and aesthetic value of each sculpture was enhanced.

If you are interested in finding out how to clean sculpture and statuary in your neighborhood, click on the Education tab at the top of the page. From there you can download documents describing how to clean a sculpture depending on the medium of the work or you can contact the City of Fountains Foundation to arrange some hands-on training.

Photos courtesy of Ginzy Schafer.