The Conservation Of Outdoor Sculpture At Vizcaya

2010 Lunch & Learn Series 3/10/10

Around 150 works of statuary, not counting architectural elements

Installations cover the entire range of environments, including maritime, hammock, garden, plaza and architecture

Primarily stone (limestone, marble, some others), terra cotta, and lead

Calcareous sedimentary stone, often fossiliferousand usually very soft but can be partially crystallized. Quarried in Florida, Istria, France, Vicenza, England.

Calcareous metamorphic stone, crystalline, hard, durable. Quarried in Carrara, Italy and Turkey.

Low temperature fired clay, usually constructed by pressing slabs into molds and reworking surfaces. Always hollow.

Soft gray metal, very low melting point. Fabricated much like terra cottas, with thin skins cast in sections and assembled hollow. Many were created in England.

Restorations were common on outdoor statuary and antiquities. Only relatively recently was the practice of reconstruction, even to the point of falsification, seen as wrong.

Typical treatments can include cleaning, removal of failed previous treatments, structural stabilization, patching, and replication of lost elements.

http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/standguide/

http://www.conservation-us.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=858&nodeID=1

Generally, guidelines are to do no harm, perform the lowest level of possible to achieve the goal, follow the creator’s original intentions, make the treatment reversible if possible and thoroughly document all work.

The quality, and quantity of the Vizcaya collection and the museum’s commitment to establishing and maintaining the highest standards of care will serve as a model for conservation in challenging environments throughout the world.

Joel Hoffman, Lynn Summers, Dennis Fruitt, Remko Jansonius, Flaminia Gennari, the staff of Vizcaya, Rosa Lowinger, George Wheeler, Joseph Sembrat, Patty Miller, J Laurie Ossman.