Preserving the Past by Richard Zampella

 © 2014 Richard Zampella: Rockefeller Center

In 2009 art conservators worked around the clock in the lobby of 30 Rockefeller Plaza to remove years of urban soot and varnish that needed to be removed one inch at a time from the murals originally painted by the Spanish painter José María Sert.

In the design phase of Rockefeller Center, Edward Trumbull, a painter, designer and muralist, created the color schemes of all the artwork and the finishes for the lobbies of every building in the complex. But over the years the surfaces grew darker and as the murals’ topcoat of varnish deepened, the maintenance staff painted the undecorated parts of the walls a darker color to match. A visit to the lobby of 30 Rock today yields a brilliant restoration of the murals as they appeared  when unveiled to the public in 1929.

Read more at: Preserving the Past