1. Historic WPA Murals Rediscovered and Restored
A Controversial Past in City Hall, Cedar Rapids
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA
In the City Council chambers at the new historic City Hall in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, art conservator Scott Haskins and his two assistants
have been working for three weeks to peel back 5 layers of overpaint,
decades deep from the surface of the second of four historic,
previously obliterated murals in the converted old federal courtroom.
The colorful Depression Era mural, entitled "Inherited Culture" was
painted by Harry Donald Jones in 1936 as part of the WPA program.
It depicts men discovering artifacts from ancient Mayan civilizations,
learning the modern techniques of agriculture and watching the
progress of industry.
The entire mural was painted over, then cleaned and then painted out
again right away in its controversial history when the building was a
federal courthouse. In 1951, Judge Henry Graven had the mural
covered for what could have been a couple of reasons: the most
controversial reason includes complaints about the Evolution of
Justice scene. Located within the American Civilization mural on the
east wall, opposite the jury box is an image which depicts a frontier
2. criminal on horseback with a noose around his neck followed by the
arrival of the American court system. However, the other reason is
more practical: The murals would have also been very dirty by this
time having been covered with unstable varnish and the building
being heated with coal. The black soot on the ornate coffered ceiling
remains under the accoustical tiles testify to dirtier days. In 1961 the
overpaint was cleaned off and the murals exposed supposedly
because of a pang of regret given their historical nature; as the
whitewash was removed by unprofessionals (city workers) the
mural’s original paint layers were substantially damaged due to the
harsh cleaning methods.
Just three years later, due to public concern about the message of
the artwork in 1964, Judge Edward McManus ordered the murals
photographed and painted over again. Retired Judge McManus is still
alive in Cedar Rapids and in his late 90’s.
Now that the civic drama from the 1960’s has passed, we come to the
present day in the saga of the murals: when the federal government
turned the Beaux Arts building over to Cedar Rapids after the 2008
flood for the City Hall, the City was obligated to preserve the historic
murals on all four walls in its agreement with the federal government.
The first mural to be uncovered on the north wall was restored by the
U.S. General Services Administration in 2011. That process took
more than 3 times longer and was at least 30% more expensive than
the same sized mural being worked on by Fine Art Conservation
Laboratories (FACL, Inc.), the City’s chosen mural restoration
professionals for the second mural.
Just as Haskins and his assistants build upon a work of genius by
touching up damage on the canvas with extra paint, they also have to
make up for the mistakes made in the mural's 76-year lifespan.
(CLICK HERE to see a short video of the retouching process) He
points out where the workers who painted out the mural sanded the
surface of the mural and did other damage. Haskins also had circled
sections of the mural in chalk; they show the parts of the canvas that
have pulled away from one of the many layers of the wall. To fix
them, Haskins injects the wall with an adhesive to make sure
everything gets reattached. Long term preservation is a high priority.
3. Assistant City Manager Sandi Fowler hopes people will come by to
see the mural and appreciate the historic, artistic elements of the new
City Hall. "It's free and open to anyone that wants to come look at it,
whether you're attending a meeting or you just want to come see it.
That's a pretty neat way to incorporate art into everyday life," Fowler
said. If, for no other reason, to remember the past. "I mean, this is
City Hall. This is the center of government in Cedar Rapids, and I
think it's highly appropriate that there be a “time capsule” from the
past that shows people where the city has come from," Haskins said.
The 48-foot long mural is the second of four that the city plans to
uncover in the room. Fowler is hoping to uncover a third in the fall of
this year, but the city needs to get more grants and funding first. Each
mural costs about $125,000 to restore including associated building
improvements. A fund has been set up at the Greater Cedar Rapids
Community Foundation for interested parties to make donations.
To see the amazing overpaint cleaning process CLICK HERE.
Art conservation questions? Call Scott M. Haskins 805 564 3438
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Mural Conservation, Scott M. Haskins
What can you do to take care of your collectibles at home ? CLICK
HERE.
