Conservation Treatment Award Update

Removal of the terra cotta globe from Light Dispelling Darkness before restoration. The globe was disassembled, cleaned, and had missing elements reconstructed. It was then re-hung on a more friendly anchoring system.

Missing pieces and a dry fountain are just some of the problems addressed by Conservation Treatment Award projects in New Jersey in 2005. Two pieces of public scupture are now conserved and can be appreciated by the public once more.

Light Dispelling Darkness, by renowned terra cotta sculptor Wayland Gregory, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, received a major conservation treatment from 2003 to 2005. It was a complex project because of the terra cotta and cast concrete materials and a fountain not in working order. The cast concrete had suffered from efflorescence and cracks, but remained in good condition with little surface loss of the artwork. The six terra cotta sculptures suffered from surface loss, missing elements, and previous poor repairs. In addition, the sculptures needed to be stabilized with a stronger anchoring system.

Light Dispelling Darkness after conservation treatment.

Conservator Gary McGowan cleaned the sculpture, removed the graffiti, and filled in cracks to prevent further water infiltration. The terra cotta sculptures were repaired off site, and missing elements were created using historic photographs and surviving models as references. The fountain and lighting were also repaired.

Created in 1937, the sculpture represents a new world order in which all the countries in the world come together to oppose war, death, famine, pestilence, greed, and materialism—all represented in the sculpture. In the early 1900s, central New Jersey was home to a thriving ceramics industry, attracting artists such as Gregory who worked in the medium. Light Dispelling Darkness was a project of the Works Progress Administration.

The Theodore Roosevelt Monument before conservation treatment.

This bear on the Theodore Roosevelt Monument was cleaned and has two new ears and a nose.

Tenafly (New Jersey) Middle School students were involved in the conservation of the Theodore Roosevelt Monument, which is near the school. The Borough of Tenafly, which owns the monument, coordinated the students’ participation. They visited the site during conservation and learned more about preservation and sculpture at school.

Tenafly Middle School students carved limestone while learning about the conservation of the Theodore Roosevelt Monument.

Stone carver Bob Carpenter, who worked on the conservation, facilitated a classroom program during which students studied plaster casts of the monument and carved limestone. A Web site featuring students’ sketches of the monument and information about its history, conservation, and Theodore Roosevelt helps students further explore their local monument.

Conservators, stone carvers, and stone masons cleaned, repointed, and carved missing pieces for the Theodore Roosevelt Monument throughout 2005. To improve the setting, the lighting was upgraded, a new drainage system was installed, and the concrete platforms and stairs were replaced with bluestone to match the originals.

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