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WELLESLEY,
Mass. - After nearly 90 years of weathering the elements,
Wellesley's Greek Goddesses have been scrubbed clean and
given full-body "face lifts." The larger-than-life size
bronze statues that flank the front entrance of Clapp Library
were restored over the summer by Rika Smith McNally, conservator
of objects and sculpture. Her firm has done conservation
work on sculptures in museums and buildings throughout the
country, including the Museum of Fine Arts.
"Athena
and Hestia have been restored to their original beauty,"
said Dale Katzif, the library's Access Services Manager
who proposed the project. "The transformation is striking
and reveals details long hidden by damage from acid rain
and graffiti."
The
statues were made by the Caproni Brothers in Boston, but
the foundry in which they were cast remains a mystery. No
foundry marks have been located. Athena, Goddess of Wisdom,
is a gift of the Class of 1887 and was installed to the
right of the front door in 1912. Hestia, Goddess of the
Hearth, is a gift of the Class of 1888 and was installed
in 1913.
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Athena
during treatment.
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Athena
after restoration.
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Hestia,
during treatment (above) and fully restored (right).
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| Conservators
worked for several weeks over the summer to restore
the two larger-than-life size bronze statues that flank
the entrance to Wellesley's Clapp Library. Athena, Goddess
of Wisdom, is to the right of the front door; Hestia,
Goddess of the Hearth, is to the left of the door. |
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