Outdoor Sculpture Conservation and Sculpture Handling

“Great Blue Heron”, a permanent outdoor installation that I assessed the condition of, cleaned, and waxed.

Over the summer of 2024 I was thrilled to accept the opportunity to join the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum team as a summer intern.

In this position one of my main duties was caring for the extensive outdoor sculpture collection, including a variety of bronze, stone, and metal pieces. For each statue, I assessed their condition, scraped them free of old wax using wooden tools and soft brushes, cleaned using diluted Orvus WA paste, and applied and buffed thin coat of wax on bronze sculptures.

One of my other main duties was handling and unpacking a variety of framed canvas paintings and sculptures. During this process I unpacked over 25 paintings and sculptures and completed thorough condition reporting on each. I also stored each piece securely and made note of their dimensions for future installation. I also used mechanical and chemical techniques to remove sticky debris from a number of frames and glass inserts.