Huntington Gallery Entry Sculptures
San Marino, L.A., California
Patching and Restoration of Deteriorated Limestone Sculptures.
The two limestone sculpted figures flanking the north entry to the Huntingotn Gallery had been unsympathetically restored by previous efforts, and the work we performed entailed reversing and hiding those previous attempts.
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Restoration and rendering of two significant limestone sculpted figures flanking the entry to this historic residence and gallery involved the use of custom-matched repair mortars and removal of old inappropriate repair work. |
During our recent work at the Huntington Gallery and Museum, we were engaged in the restoration of the entire cast stone and limestone facade. We were also busy with the restoration of the two limestone sculptures flanking the entrance on the north side of the building. |
The two limestone figures flanking the north entry of the main house were part of a larger group of sculptures widely placed on the grounds of the facility. All of the limestone figures were subjected to well-intentioned but ultimately destructive attempts at stabilizing the sculptures. |
The original limestone of all the figures (including the two shown in this segment) had displayed signs of decay common to limesones all over the world - a tendency to 'sugar' and dissipate in the presence of moisture (acid rain, etc.). Later attempts at stabilizing the original limestone had coated the original soft stone with a much harder coating of a cementitious paint-like application. This coating was intended to render the soft base stone more resistant to the penetration of moisture. In fact it kept the stone encased in a water-resistant skin that caused the original stone to deterioate at an accelerated rate. |
Over the years this cementitious coating had failed as well, exposing the original limestone to yet more mechanisms of decay. |
As the old cementitious coating degraded and failed, it exposed the original limestone, which obliged this exposure to the elements by degrading and failing, as many limestones would do under similar circumstances. |
As we carefully pulled off and removed by hand the accumulations of previous attempts at repairs, we also discovered holes drilled by the previous restoration effort in an attempt to provide anchor holes or mechanical means of anchoring the previous patches. |
Evidence of these previously installed anchors holes was most evident in the second figure. |
This image shows a typical steel anchor removed during our restoration efforts. These anchors were intended to provide a more stable attachment to the original limestone, similar to the anchor holes previously uncovered. |
After all the old cementitious coatings were carefully removed, the laborious process of patching and repairing the previous repairs was begun. |
Here the image shows a typical area of the statues prior to our commencement of work. Note the extensive appolication of Portland cement (gray) mortar to the original limestone surface. |
Here the same area has been fully prepared - removal of old cementitious skin, old cement patch areas, and exposure of old anchor holes. Basically, the contemporary sculpture has been relieved of all previoius repair materials. |
Here the same area has been fully restored. The large patch areas have been fully repaired using a specialty patching mortar color-matched to the original cleaned limestone. Additionally, this same repair mortar was thinned to a paintable consistency and uniformly applied to all exposed areas of the sculpture. This 'rendering' allowed us to create a final product that was uniform in color and appearance, and resistant to the futher penetration and degradation of moisture, after the application of a water repellant treatment. |
Here we have a fully restored area on the head of one of the figures. Note the patched areas where old cement has been removed, and the uniform appearance of the overall surface due to the color-matched rendering applied as a next-to-last step. Application of a water-repellant sealer was the final step in the restoration process. |