Conservator to describe Abe’s cleaning

The well-known statue of Abraham Lincoln at UW–Madison is about to be cleaned for the first time, because Abe’s the worse for wear after sitting on Bascom Hill for 90 years.

The bronzed likeness of Lincoln is coated with a patina of corrosion that’s very bad for his long-term survival. But all that’s about to end: Cameron Wilson, a professional conservator from New York City, will give Abe a gentle cleaning Sept. 21-25.

Wilson will lead an informal on-site discussion of his Abe-cleaning work at noon Thursday, Sept. 23, with a rain date of Friday noon. The talk is sponsored by the Elvehjem Museum of Art and is open to the public without charge.

Wilson was asked by the university to save Abe from eventual disfigurement. The statue is minutely corroding away with each drop of acid rain. If left to his own devices – and how many of those does a statue have? – Abe will start to lose his features to the predations of pollution.

“Maintenance of the Lincoln statue is part of our stewardship as its owners,” says Russell Panczenko, director of the Elvehjem Museum.