The Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka Restoration Case Study

September 2010 Conservators: Rikke Foulke, Lead Conservator Patricia Buss Cynthia Fiorini Rhonda Wozniak

July 2011 "Every man who comes to America from the European cemetery should show his gratification to his adopted land by making a contribution to its culture. This church will be mine." Maxo Vanka - 1941

The restoration of the Pieta was made possible through the generosity of: Snee-Reinhardt Foundation and Joseph Delack in memory of his wife, Theresa.

The Project — Restoration of the Pieta by Maxo Vanka Maxo Vanka painted his “Gift to America” on the walls of St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, PA in two eight-week sessions during the years of 1937 and 1941. Commissioned by Croatian parish priest of the time, Fr. Albert Zagar, the murals have quietly awed and inspired church visitors for more than 70 years. They sit in what once was the heart of the Croatian community of Pittsburgh and contain timeless statements about faith, social justice and the immigrant experience in America. An increasing number of people visit the church each year and include many international guests. Detailed, docent-led tours are made possible by a dedicated corps of volunteers. In 2009, the Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka began a fundraising campaign to clean, restore and light what have been called one of Pittburgh’s “Hidden Gems.” The estimated cost to complete the project is in excess of $600,000. Approximately 50% of the total has been raised to date and the first phase of restoration and preservation, including six of the murals most in need of attention, has been completed. One of the murals in Phase I — and the one most in need of attention — is the Pieta. It presented some of the greatest challenges to the project conservators with significant water damage from a roof leak associated with Hurricane Ivan. The extensive efforts to return the mural to its original state involved consultation with experts as far as Florence, Italy and conservation techniques as new as the application of nanoparticles. The story of the renewal of the Pieta follows.

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September 2008 — Pieta The first image was taken during a pilot study of the mural in 2008. Damage from efflorescence is present along the right border. The mural was cleaned and stabilized for similar salt damage in 1996, but new structural damages to the building occurred in 2004 as a result of remnants of Hurricane Ivan. The second image shows a detail of the same corner after conservation measures by Foulke Fine Art Conservation. Water is carried through the building structure and, when it reaches the interior surface of the church it dries. The material crystallizes on the surface, resulting in a white powder. Water could not penetrate the synthetic adhesives used in the previous treatment, causing new damages in what had been healthy paint.

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September 2010 Detail images of salts on Pieta and areas of previous restoration 13 September 2010. These images show new damages from salts on areas cleaned, stabilized, and retouched in 1996. They also demonstrate some drawbacks of the previous treatment. Adhesives darkened the dry surface of the mural.

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October 2010 These images were made after the scaffold was in place. Damage to the murals was observed in detail. Areas of white represent loss of original paint. The pressure from the efflorescence pushed paint off the wall. White sulfates formed on the surface as a result of water passing through the building. Large passages that had been damaged from previous leaks were restored/conserved in the earlier treatment.

The retouching medium did not allow water to pass through to the interior surface of the wall. New salts damages are found around the perimeter of the old repairs. Water found the path of least resistance. The mural was damaged further by the impermeability of the retouch. Instead of forming on the surface, salt formation under the retouching created soft, billowing puffs rising out of plane of the wall surface. 5

November 2010 Some of these images are taken in “raking light”. The light is skimming the surface to allow texture to be seen. Salts in these areas were sampled for elemental analysis to determine whether inorganic methods could be used to convert the sulfates back into healthy plaster.

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March 2011 Unsatisfied with the appearance and performance of the conservation-quality adhesives, the conservators sought the assistance of chemist Baglioni from Florence. He is very experienced with the treatment of salts in historic structures and studied with chemists and conservators who developed new techniques to convert sulfates back into healthy plaster. The conservators learned traditional techniques of using poultices infused with numerous materials for the chemical conversion. Baglioni also introduced the team to the use of nanoparticles for the same treatment. Nanoparticles were more appealing because they

were delivered in a nonaqueous solvent and were more efficient in the conversion. A full description of the use of the European inorganic methods to stabilize efflorescence on the Maxo Vanka murals will be presented at a conference in Cyprus in October 2011. The conservators look forward to an opportunity to share their experience with inorganic methods and nanoparticles and to introduce the beautiful works in St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church with international colleagues.

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APRIL 2011 In the month of April the conservators employed traditional European techniques to convert the salts into healthy wall surface again. Poultices were applied over Japanese tissue. The poultice material is a very clean cellulose fiber and appears white. The initial step removes as much of the sulfates as possible. This step is followed by a rinse. The following steps convert the remaining material into plaster. When using the nanoparticles, the Japanese tissue is also used. Unfortunately, most of the previous fills and retouching had to be removed. The retouching was carefully removed with scalpels. Removal gave access to the surface where salts were present. Salts present over the old fills were brushed away. Poultices were then applied in old areas of restoration/conservation. 8

April 2011-Continued

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May and June 2011 Treatment of the salts was a long process. Poultices were applied, but the area had to be dry before moving onto the next step in the conversion. After areas had been stabilized, adjacent areas of damages were treated.

Injecting nanoparticles into the plaster.

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July 2011 Some areas were too damaged and there was no material left behind to convert back into plaster. The conservators filled these losses, adding an inert material with the texture of sand to maintain porosity similar to the original surface. This new fill material would allow water the pass through, in the event that new leaks would develop in the roof. The conservators selected materials for retouching that would remain permeable to water. The conservators then gently cleaned some select passages to reduce the mottled appearance.

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July 2011—Continued

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July 2011—Continued

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A Project of The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka (SPMMMV) The cleaning and restoration of the murals depends on the generosity of private contributors. Donations of approximately $300,000 are needed to complete the project and preserve Vanka’s “Gift to America” for generations to come. SPMMMV is grateful for gifts of all sizes. Special underwriting and recognition opportunities are available. For more information, please contact Anna Doering at 412352-0365 or by email: [email protected]. Donations may be made online: www.vankamurals.org.

SPMMMV 151 Stone Gate Drive Leechburg, PA 15656 724-845-2907 [email protected] The official registration and financial information of The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka may be obtained from the PA Dept. of State by calling toll free, within PA, 1.800.732.0999. Registration does not imply endorsement. Contributions to SPMMMV a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code are deductible as allowed by law.

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