Ready for his close-up: Lincoln statue gets a cleaning

One of the most photographed features of the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, Bascom Hill’s statue of Abraham Lincoln, will be spruced up beginning this week.

Milwaukee art conservator Cricket Harbeck will begin cleaning the statue for the first time in a decade. The cleaning coincides with the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth and the centennial of the statue’s placement on the hill.

A brown-bag question-and-answer session with Harbeck will be held at noon on Wednesday, Aug. 12, at the statue, which is a replica of Adolph A. Weinman’s original which was erected in Lincoln’s hometown of Hodgenville, Ky.

During the week, the statue will be power washed followed by hot and cold wax treatments to protect the bronze work from the elements.

Plaques on both sides of the main Bascom Hall entrance — one bearing the Gettysburg address and another commemorating the renowned “sifting and winnowing” quote — will also be cleaned during the week.

The restoration of the statue and Gettysburg Address plaque is funded by Jim Hoyt and John Skilton, members of the Wisconsin Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

This week’s restoration work is in preparation for a Lincoln commemorative program to be held at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the statue. The Lincoln Bicentennial Commission sponsored event will include remarks from Chancellor Biddy Martin and musical selections performed by the 1st Brigade Brass Band, playing on authentic instruments from the Civil War period.