Lincoln statue to get cleaning

Dedication of Lincoln statue in 1909.

In case you haven’t taken a hard look at him lately, Old Abe is under the weather – because he’s under the weather.

The bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln on the top of Bascom Hill is minutely corroding away with each drop of acid rain. Abe will, very gradually, start to lose his features if left unattended and exposed to the predations of pollution.

The statue, by sculptor Adolph A. Weinman, was a gift of UW alumnus and regent Thomas E. Brittingham in 1909. It is the only replica of Weinman’s statue at Hodgenville, Ky., near Lincoln’s birthplace.

Needless to say, the statue today does not have the even bronzy-brown appearance that it did in 1909 or that it would have, had it been indoors. It now sports a streaky green-and-black look that some may assume is “natural.”

Well, corrosion may be natural, but it’s also unhealthy for Abe. Without cleaning and protection, he is doomed to slow-motion disfigurement over the years, with his facial features and other details the first to go.

“One big myth is that outdoor sculpture will stay there forever, but everything is susceptible to the elements,” says Russell Panczenko, director of the Elvehjem Museum of Art. “Maintenance of the Lincoln statue is part of the responsibility of owning it.”

Here’s good news, he adds, for all those who consider Abe to be an important campus icon: Help for the great president is on the way. As part of the sesquicentennial, the university has contracted with Cameron Wilson of Brooklyn, N.Y., to spend a week with Abe in September.

Wilson is a nationally known art conservator and owner of his own business, Wilson Conservation. During his visit to UW–Madison this fall, Wilson will remove active corrosion agents from Abe, along with remnants of red and green paint left by vandals. He also will clean the statue’s base and hot-wax the bronze. The hot wax has a corrosion inhibitor and will be reapplied each year.

“The statue will appear dark brown-green with much less streaking,” says Wilson, to “bring it closer to its original appearance. The artist didn’t intend for it to have green and black streaks – that’s just what happens to statuary outside.”

Abe’s clean-and-wax job will show him off to greater advantage. “Corrosion distracts the viewer from the work of art itself,” says Wilson. “After Abe is cleaned, you’ll be able to read his form better.”

You’ll also be able to see details more easily that now require the peer-and-squint approach. For example, a layer of green corrosion makes it hard to see the eagle on the back of Abe’s chair.

Wilson will also clean and wax the two dedication plaques near the statue, as well as a plaque with the Gettysburg Address and the “sifting and winnowing” plaque on the front of Bascom Hall.

Wilson’s work will have a hallmark: gentleness. He’ll remove corrosion products from Abe with medium water pressure or crushed deoiled walnut shells. Wilson will not strip the statue and plaques down to like-new condition, and for good reason.

“Some corrosion agents on Abe, for example, are now inactive and stable and form a kind of protection,” says Wilson. “Stripping a bronze down to the metal means you are removing part of the metal’s surface, which is not an accepted technique in conservation anymore.”

In the end, the cure for what ails Abe is responsible stewardship. “We don’t want to pretend that time hasn’t passed for Abe,” says Panczenko. “But at the same time we want to preserve the statue’s artistic integrity so it can continue to be a campus icon.”

After Wilson completes his work in September, the statue will be unveiled during homecoming weekend Oct. 15-16.