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Conservation in Action: Preserving and Cleaning the Queen's Hall Murals
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From State Library of Victoria News No. 21, October 2002 - January 2003
Following the carnage of World War I, the Trustees of the Public Library, Museum and National Gallery of Victoria announced a competition in 1922 calling for designs for 'a Mural War Memorial', to be financed by the Felton bequest. Harold Septimus Power won the competition, and his work was unveiled on 12 February 1924. Power's mural comprises two panels of oil paint on canvas on wooden strainers. The left panel depicts military operations on the Western front during World War I, while the panel on the right shows the war in Palestine. |
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In 1929, again under the auspices of the Felton bequest, the Public Library purchased a large mural painting by Napier Waller, oil on canvas on wooden stretchers. The mural shows a classical scene, the left-hand panel depicting, in the words of a contemporary writer, 'a mounted knight in full armour, surrounded by a group of figures in Greek costume. On the right is a majestic white bull, with some figures bearing fruits of the earth and others typical of pastoral life, the whole panel being symbolic of peace as opposed to the more warlike suggestion of the panel on the left.'
In September 2001, the State Library of Victoria began a two-stage process that involved the protection and cleaning of the murals. During the extensive building works in the adjacent domed reading room, the murals were protected from dust and damage by the application of facing paper and Foamcore boards to the front surface. After the completion of the Dome building works, the protective facing boards were removed and the murals treated and cleaned to remove years of residual dirt that had accumulated on the surface of the canvas. |
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Library Paintings Conservator, Virgina Dahlenburg, supervised the mural project, and a team of specialists provided contract conservators Artcare undertook the conservation work. The murals were surface cleaned with powdered eraser, the residue of which was subsequently vacuumed off. Areas were selectively cleaned with de-ionised water but this was very carefully monitored, as blooming was a problem. The cleaning of the Napier Waller mural revealed clear evidence of previous restoration work using a tinted gel, which was removed with water. In other areas, particularly where joins of the canvas meet, there was evidence of infill and inpaint. This was documented but left untouched.
Photographs documenting the procedure were taken, both before and after treatment, by State Library of Victoria photographer Adrian Flint. Mary Lewis of the Pictures Collection also assisted with the curatorial research undertaken for this project.
Illustrations
A contract conservator works on the Napier Waller mural opposite the entrance to Queen's Hall. |
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