Outdoor Sculpture Conservation Project - Fall 2007

With a Grant from the Henry Luce Foundation

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center was fortunate to receive a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation for conservation work on ten outdoor sculptures currently on view throughout the vast grounds and gardens of the historical center.

In May 2006, Marianne Marti, of Russell-Marti Conservation Services, examined the historical center’s outdoor sculptures and developed a maintenance plan for the works of art. During the fall of 2007, three conservators from the Russell-Marti team spent nearly two weeks in Cody, carefully examining ten of the outdoor sculptures and undertaking various conservation treatments. Let's focus on five of the larger artworks.

The large bronze sculptures on the grounds were thoroughly cleaned, washed with water and a non-ionic surfactant, brushed with brass wire bristle brushes to remove corrosion products, and given an application of paste wax, followed by buffing with soft China bristle brushes. Conservators consulted a booklet describing the creation of The Unknown by R.V. Greeves as they worked on this monumental bronze. Photographs in the booklet indicated that the sculpture had some amount of sheen, but not a deeply saturated surface, so care was taken not to apply too much heat that would melt the original wax application.

The Unknown - during treatment process

On James Earle Fraser’s Buffalo Prayer, conservators discovered a small area devoid of patina. This was locally patinated with heat and a diluted solution. Buffalo Prayer was last conserved in the 1990s, and demonstrates how the extremes of Wyoming weather can play havoc with outdoor sculptures. With the completed process, Fraser's sculpture gained an elegant new surface.

Buffalo Prayer - before and after conservation treatment

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s monumental Buffalo Bill – The Scout, originally installed on July 4, 1924, was cleaned and then given two applications of paste wax, since areas of this sculpture are handled by the public a great deal the extra protection was necessary. Annual maintenance treatments on The Scout are required to preserve the iconic sculpture for future generations. Prior to treatment, the surface of The Scout was an uneven combination of raw vulnerable metal, thickly applied wax, powdery residue, unstable patina, and corrosion. The same conditions were true of Robert Scriver’s Buffalo Bill – Plainsman, located at the front of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Due to its location, this sculpture had highly worn areas on the rifle due to the public posing for photographs with the artwork and touching the rifle barrel. There were also accumulations of dirt, wax, and hand oil on the rifle, and the overall surface of the sculpture was dull and matte.The coloration was reapplied to the shiny bronze by successively heating the metal with a torch and then applying thin layers of patina. The results are stunning.

Buffalo Bill - The Scout - before, during, and after conservation treatment

Buffalo Bill - Plainsman - before, during, and after conservation treatment

Code of the West, by artist Herb Mignery, was covered with hard water deposits in the form of large patches of white haze and streaks, and the patina had dulled to a grey, haze-like appearance and a blanched wax coating. It took several days of continuous work by the Russell-Marti crew to remove the mineral deposits and corrosion with fine brass wire bristles brushes. After washing, two applications of paste wax were applied and lightly buffed. As seen in the images, the conservation treatments drastically improved the sculpture's surface.

Code of the West - before, during, and after conservation treatment

As the before, during, and after treatment process images of the sculptures denote - the results are remarkable.

Wyoming's harsh climate creates unusual discolorations, crystals, and wearing away of surfaces on the sculptures. The 2007 conservation process is the beginning of a new rotating annual maintenance schedule for the entire outdoor sculpture collection.

THE SCULPTURES

Richard Greeves (b. 1935). The Unknown, 1985. Bronze; 108 x 92 x 90 inches. Gift of Marjorie May Braun through the Braun Foundation. 69.86

James Earle Fraser (1876-1953). Buffalo Prayer, modeled ca. 1917, copyright 1931, cast posthumously 1968. Cast 1/2 by Modern Art Foundry, New York. Bronze; 107.5 inches. Gift of William E. Weiss. 51.72

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875-1942). Buffalo Bill - The Scout, 1924. Roman Bronze Works, N.Y. Bronze; 149 inches. Gift of the artist. 3.58

Robert Macfie Scriver (1914-1999). Buffalo Bill - Plainsman, 1976. Modern Art Foundry, N.Y. Bronze; 86.5 x 62 x 50.25 inches. 12.77

Herb Mignery (b. 1937). Code of the West, 1998. Bronze; 140 x 137 x 72 inches. Gift of Mike Kammerer/Code of the West Foundation. 9.01