The Center's Mural Department restores 18th-21st century watercolor, fresco, secco, oil, and acrylic based murals on plaster, canvas, metal, and paper supports. The Mural Department is renowned for the preservation of over 600 Progressive and WPA murals in the Chicago area and across the nation. Often up on scaffolding, working a square foot at a time, this department meets the demand of preserving large scale public art.
Post treatment: Contemporary Chicago, Rudolph Weisenborn, 1936, oil on canvas. WPA mural located at Louis Nettlehorst Elementary School, Chicago, Illinois.
Post treatment, Columbus' Ships, Edwin Terwilliger, 1922, oil on canvas. Pre-WPA oil on canvas adorning the Columbus Park Field House, Chicago, Illinois.
Scenes from Early American History, Various Artists, 1912. Post treatment: series of 18 pre-WPA oil on canvas murals decorating the Sherman Park Field House in Chicago, Illinois.
More Information on The Chicago Conservation Center's Mural Restoration Projects
Jones, Megan Ann. "Meeting the Challenges of Public Mural Conservation." Preserve and Play: Preserving Hisotric Recreation and Entertainment Sites, Confrence Proceedings. Ed. Deborah Slanton, Chad Randl, and Lauren Van Damme. Washington, D.C.: Historic Preservation Education Foundation, 2006. 119-123. (PDF file)
