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The Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka
Restoration Case Study
The restoration of the Pieta was made possible through the generosity of: Snee-Reinhardt
Foundation and Joseph Delack in memory of his wife, Theresa.
Conservators: Rikke Foulke, Lead Conservator Patricia Buss Cynthia Fiorini Rhonda Wozniak
September 2010 July 2011
"Every man who comes to America from the European cemetery should show his gratification to his adopted land by making a contribution to
its culture. This church will be mine." Maxo Vanka - 1941
The Project — Restoration of the Pieta by Maxo Vanka
Maxo Vanka painted his “Gift to America” on the walls of St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church
in Millvale, PA in two eight-week sessions during the years of 1937 and 1941. Commissioned by
Croatian parish priest of the time, Fr. Albert Zagar, the murals have quietly awed and inspired
church visitors for more than 70 years. They sit in what once was the heart of the Croatian com-
munity of Pittsburgh and contain timeless statements about faith, social justice and the immi-
grant experience in America. An increasing number of people visit the church each year and in-
clude many international guests. Detailed, docent-led tours are made possible by a dedicated corps
of volunteers.
In 2009, the Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka began a fundraising cam-
paign to clean, restore and light what have been called one of Pittburgh’s “Hidden Gems.” The
estimated cost to complete the project is in excess of $600,000. Approximately 50% of the total
has been raised to date and the first phase of restoration and preservation, including six of the
murals most in need of attention, has been completed.
One of the murals in Phase I — and the one most in need of attention — is the Pieta. It presented
some of the greatest challenges to the project conservators with significant water damage from a
roof leak associated with Hurricane Ivan. The extensive efforts to return the mural to its original
state involved consultation with experts as far as Florence, Italy and conservation techniques as
new as the application of nanoparticles.
The story of the renewal of the Pieta follows. 2
September 2008 — Pieta
The first image was taken during a pilot study of the mural in 2008. Damage from efflorescence is pre-
sent along the right border. The mural was cleaned and stabilized for similar salt damage in 1996, but
new structural damages to the building occurred in 2004 as a result of remnants of Hurricane
Ivan. The second image shows a detail of the same corner after conservation measures by Foulke Fine
Art Conservation. Water is carried
through the build-
ing structure and,
when it reaches the
interior surface of
the church it
dries. The material
crystallizes on the
surface, resulting in
a white pow-
der. Water could
not penetrate the
synthetic adhesives
used in the previous
treatment, causing
new damages in
what had been
healthy paint. 3
September 2010
Detail images of salts on Pieta and areas of
previous restoration 13 September
2010. These images show new damages from
salts on areas cleaned, stabilized, and re-
touched in 1996. They also demonstrate
some drawbacks of the previous treat-
ment. Adhesives darkened the dry surface of
the mural.
4
October 2010
These images were made after the scaffold was in place. Damage to the murals was observed in detail. Ar-
eas of white represent loss of original paint. The pressure from the efflorescence pushed paint off the
wall. White sulfates formed on the surface as a result of water passing through the building. Large passag-
es that had been damaged from previous leaks were restored/conserved in the earlier treatment.
Water found the path of least resistance. The mural was
damaged further by the impermeability of the retouch. In-
stead of forming on the surface, salt formation under the
retouching created soft, billowing puffs rising out of plane
of the wall surface.
The retouching me-
dium did not allow
water to pass
through to the interi-
or surface of the
wall. New salts dam-
ages are found
around the perime-
ter of the old re-
pairs.
5
November 2010
Some of these images are taken in “raking light”. The light
is skimming the surface to allow texture to be seen. Salts in
these areas were sampled for elemental analysis to deter-
mine whether inorganic methods could be used to convert
the sulfates back into healthy plaster.
6
Unsatisfied with the appearance and performance of the conservation-quality adhesives, the conservators sought the assis-
tance of chemist Baglioni from Florence. He is very experienced with the treatment of salts in historic structures and studied
with chemists and conservators who developed new techniques to convert sulfates back into healthy plaster. The conserva-
tors learned traditional techniques of using poultices infused with numerous materials for the chemical conversion. Baglioni
also introduced the team to the use of nanoparticles for the same treatment. Nanoparticles were more appealing because they
March 2011
were delivered in a non-
aqueous solvent and were
more efficient in the conver-
sion. A full description of the
use of the European inorganic
methods to stabilize efflo-
rescence on the Maxo Vanka
murals will be presented at a
conference in Cyprus in Octo-
ber 2011. The conservators
look forward to an opportuni-
ty to share their experience
with inorganic methods and
nanoparticles and to introduce
the beautiful works in St.
Nicholas Croatian Catholic
Church with international col-
leagues.
7
APRIL 2011
In the month of April the conservators em-
ployed traditional European techniques to
convert the salts into healthy wall surface
again. Poultices were applied over Japanese
tissue. The poultice material is a very clean
cellulose fiber and appears white. The initial
step removes as much of the sulfates as possi-
ble. This step is followed by a rinse.
The following steps convert the remaining
material into plaster. When using the nano-
particles, the Japanese tissue is also used. Un-
fortunately, most of the previous fills and re-
touching had to be removed. The retouching
was carefully removed with scalpels. Remov-
al gave access to the surface where salts were
present. Salts present over the old fills were
brushed away. Poultices were then applied in
old areas of restoration/conservation.
8
April 2011-Continued
9
May and June 2011
Treatment of the salts was a long process.
Injecting na-noparticles in-to the plaster.
Poultices
were applied,
but the area
had to be dry
before mov-
ing onto the
next step in
the conver-
sion.
After areas
had been sta-
bilized, adja-
cent areas of
damages were
treated.
10
July 2011
Some areas were too damaged and there was no material left behind to convert back into plaster. The
conservators filled these losses, adding an inert material with the texture of sand to maintain porosity
similar to the original surface. This new fill material would allow water the pass through, in the event
that new leaks
would develop
in the roof. The
conservators se-
lected materials
for retouching
that would re-
main permeable
to water. The
conservators
then gently
cleaned some
select passages to
reduce the mott-
led appearance.
11
July 2011—Continued
12
July 2011—Continued
13
A Project of The Society to Preserve
the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka (SPMMMV)
The cleaning and restoration of the murals depends on the generosity of private con-tributors. Donations of approximately $300,000 are needed to complete the project
and preserve Vanka’s “Gift to America” for generations to come.
SPMMMV is grateful for gifts of all sizes. Special underwriting and recognition op-portunities are available. For more information, please contact Anna Doering at 412-
352-0365 or by email: [email protected].
Donations may be made online: www.vankamurals.org.
14
SPMMMV 151 Stone Gate Drive Leechburg, PA 15656
724-845-2907 [email protected]
The official registration and financial information of The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of
Maxo Vanka may be obtained from the PA Dept. of State by calling toll free, within PA, 1.800.732.0999. Registration does not imply endorsement. Contributions to SPMMMV a tax-exempt organization under
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code are deductible as allowed by law.