Making It Last: Training Conservators in Sustainable Solutions for Treating Outdoor Painted Sculpture

Abstract

ABSTRACT Outdoor painted sculptures (OPSs) are a regular feature of public spaces and private collections throughout the world. Their painted finishes can appear deceptively simple, but their esthetic is a subtle combination of color, texture, and reflectance, making them challenging to care for and repair. OPSs are exposed to direct sunlight, rain, wind, pollutants, human interactions, and biological debris from plants and animals. Conservation of these artworks is a matter of preserving an artist’s esthetic intent, rather than the original paint system, which will inevitably need to be replaced. This paper discusses the development of the Getty Conservation Institute workshop Treatment Strategies for OPS, to develop skills in this specialized area of conservation. The full repainting of an artwork is expensive, laborious, logistically challenging, and includes the use of chemicals and processes with significant carbon footprints: improving the economic and environmental sustainability of these treatments has become imperative. The workshop teaches participants strategies that help stave off full repainting, such as working with specialized painters for lasting localized repairs, removing graffiti without altering the sculpture’s finish, and creating regular maintenance programs that help prevent deterioration.