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Save and Restore California’s WPA Historic Mural, Richmond – Industrial City

You’d think Victor Arnautoff, the artistic director of the extensive murals at Coit Tower in nearby San Francisco and a protégé of Diego Rivera, would get some respect. But even a major oil on canvas (on the wall) commissioned by the United States Treasury Fine Arts Section for the downtown Richmond, CA post office, painted by Arnautoff in April 1941, was unceremoniously ripped from the Wall.

Records show that during a post office lobby remodel, the historic 6’6 “X 13’4” WPA mural of the “Industrial City of Richmond” depicting prominent people and places in Richmond … it was not considered, therefore, historically important … and Arnautoff was a prominent figure in the art projects of the New Deal, a national federal program!

It apparently languished, undetected in the building’s basement for nearly half a century. Then in 2014, staff at the Richmond Museum of History and Culture learned from longtime member Fran Cappelletti that a mural had once graced the post office lobby. Executive Director Melinda McCrary took over the search for this important large painting that had been “lost.” Her search led her to the post office concierge and they found a huge triangular box in a room with no light, the label clearly identifying it as the missing mural. This was exciting !!

Although valued by the museum’s knowledgeable staff, getting USPS authorities to act was a different matter. The flooding in the basement even had to be dealt with! When the box was finally opened, there was a collective sigh of relief when he realized that although there was a water stain on the outside of the box, the wall scroll did not appear to be affected.

There is no controversy about this Arnautoff mural that was once lost

While recent controversy rages around a mural at a San Francisco medical center over whether valuable historical murals should be kept from the same time period as this Arnautoff mural, there is no question at the Richmond Museum of History and Culture in that the heritage of the city is documented and is a legacy of valuable public art. The active historical museum has not embraced the lazy techniques of begging with a tin cup in hand for fundraising, but, thinking outside the box, it has implemented a vision of community engagement that has been fun and educational.

On Tuesday, October 20 and November 10, Scott M. Haskins, the art curator chosen for the restoration of the mural, in collaboration with the Museum of Richmond will present a Zoom webinar to show the community not only the interesting aspects of this history and restoration, but they also provide a super interesting educational presentation on what attendees can do for themselves to “put away their stuff” or preserve collectibles, relics and family heritage in the home or office. Mr. Haskins is a world-renowned author of several books on this topic and he makes it a lot of fun.

“This is compelling work that captures the diversity of Richmond, a blue-collar community,” says Melinda McCrary, Executive Director of the Museum. “A wide range of occupations, ethnicities and landscapes demonstrate what life was like in those days. Richmond was a working-class American community.” It is a celebration of life that was created especially for this community.

When the Russian-born Arnautoff painted the mural, he was one of the most prominent and influential members of the San Francisco art community. Between 1932 and 1942, he completed 11 public murals, the best known of which is City Life (1934) at Coit Tower in San Francisco. The Richmond Post Office mural was Arnautoff’s last mural of this size and the first time since Coit Tower that he chose to depict a mix of city people going about their daily business. His mural depicts life in Richmond from 1941, when the United States was on the brink of World War II.

Restoring an Art Treasure: Richmond Industrial City Mural

The striking WPA mural was finally declared lost after it was unceremoniously removed from its historic post office in the 1970s. Having found its home at the Richmond Museum of History and Culture under the enthusiastic care of Director Melinda McCrary, a great effort was made with the museum board to find a mural expert to preserve, restore, and install the mural for the enjoyment and education of future generations. come.

Scott M. Haskins, Art Curator and Author, and his team at the Fine Arts Conservation Laboratories were chosen as the “A” team. All mural conservation treatments are done with the idea that the mural will last for generations into the future. When a paint company tells you about the best paint quality, they mean it will last for 10 years. We think in terms of generations, a century. Everything we do has a long-term future in mind, “says Haskins.

He is careful to point out that they (art curators) are not artists and do not do anything creative. What they do is painstaking work that requires detective work to determine how and why the original materials used in the painting crumble and how they respond to preservation treatments. “The art conservation process involves knowing how the artwork reacts to the environment.” Haskins and his team were trained decades ago in Italy and have an impressive history of experience restoring prized artwork and murals here in the US.

He points out that the government’s goal in funding works of art like Arnautoff’s was to

establish a legacy. “It was meant to be the artistic footprint in our community,” he says. “From a social conscience point of view, it’s definitely worth saving.”

While art “restoration” may suggest that restorers are painting on something, Haskins says they don’t even have oil paint in their lab. Instead, they work with special paint that is made for the preservation of art that can be easily removed, if necessary in the future, without damaging the original. They use cotton swabs and work on one color, one spot at a time. They are retouching it with a very small brush with only a few hairs, one point of color at a time. They then apply the custom varnish in many very thin coats, first with a brush and then with a spray gun to make it very even.

Haskins says the Richmond mural appears to be in good condition visually, but “the drama and traumatic effect of removing it from the wall has taken its toll.” Especially since the glue used in those days was rock hard. And the mural needs to be cleaned. “We seek to have zero impact in causing more stress. We have to stabilize or cancel the stress in the painting of the past,” he says.

Richmond’s Arnautoff mural presents interesting conservation and restoration challenges. Haskins says that around World War II, there were many new inventions and the war prompted new technologies: paints and varnishes, glues, resins, such as for warships, radiators, new building materials, etc. “If the artists found a spare paint can, they used it. When we got into our tediously demanding work, we didn’t rule out the fact that the artist could have used some kind of random paint, not related to art.” “

Haskins shares Melinda McCrary’s commitment to preserving the mural, “The idea of ​​preserving our heritage and understanding our legacy is very important to the community,” she says. “Richmond does not have a famous cathedral, but we have things that stimulate or” fire “our memory. People tell stories that perpetuate the value and importance of the time. And this mural is not just a decoration or a painting in a book. It’s a panoramic view that stimulates memory. “

On the two Tuesdays, October 20 and November 10, Scott M. Haskins, in collaboration with the Richmond Museum, hosted a Zoom webinar to show, not just the community, the interesting aspects of the history and restoration of this mural. , but also provide a super interesting educational presentation. on what attendees can do on their own to “put away their belongings” or preserve collectibles, heirlooms and family legacy at home or in the office. Mr. Haskins is a world-renowned author of several books on this topic and made the learning process a lot of fun.

The restoration of Richmond, an industrial city, was completed in October 2020.

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