U.S. Custom House, New York City: Overview of Analyses and Interpretation of Altered Architectural Finishes

Abstract

AbstractThe U.S. Custom House, New York City, was completed in 1907 by the preeminent American architect, Cass Gilbert (1859–1934). The building is recognized as an American masterpiece of integrated architectural design, engineering, sculpture, decorative arts, mural paintings, and decorative interior finishes. The U.S. Custom House is a designated National Historic Landmark and New York City Landmark. Largely abandoned in 1972, the structure has been undergoing complete renovation since 1991, including the conservation and restoration of the interior.This paper is an overview of the analyses of the original interior finishes and architectural polychromy, executed from 1910–12 by the artist-decorator Elmer Garnsey (1862–1946). These analyses served as the foundation for the program to conserve the surviving finishes and replicate the heavily damaged and almost completely over-painted architectural polychromy. However, Garnsey's execution techniques were so complex and the alteration and obfuscation of co...