The polished machinery featured in Marvin Beerbohm's Automotive Industry will be shimmering a little brighter now that the mural has been treated by the American Art Museum's paintings conservator, Amber Kerr.
The mural, which was previously located in Detroit's Public Library, was recently installed in the museum's first floor, Experience America, galleries and is now on view. Our paintings conservator was also on view during the mural's cleaning, as the artwork's large size required an in-situ treatment.
Working under the watchful gaze of the public is nothing new for our conservation staff, whose daily activity is continually on display in the museum's Lunder Conservation Center, which is located on the third and fourth floors of the museum. Commissioned by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and painted in 1940, the artwork needed some cleaning and touching up. The skilled hands of our conservator worked quickly and the treatment of this expansive canvas was completed in less than two weeks.
