Back in the Sculpture Gardens: The Recent Conservation of Alexander Calder’s Four Dishes

In spring 2021, the BMA received a generous Conservation Implementation Grant from the Maryland State Arts Council to carry out critically needed conservation treatment on Alexander Calder’s Four Dishes (BMA 1974.62.3), which through decades of exposure to the elements had experienced significant deterioration and fading of the painted surface, and corrosion of the underlying steel. With work completed this summer, Four Dishes will once again greet visitors who explore the Museum’s Alan and Janet Wurtzburger Sculpture Garden. The Wurtzburger Garden and the adjoining Ryda and Robert Levi Sculpture Garden, which are free and open to be enjoyed by the public year-round, are home to 34 modern and contemporary sculptures by artists including Jacques Lipchitz, Henry Moore, Mark di Suvero, Louise Nevelson, and Tony Smith.

In this virtual Council lecture, Christine Downie, BMA Objects Conservator, and Scott Homolka, BMA Director of Conservation, will discuss the logistics of removing and transporting Calder’s sculpture to an off-site facility specializing in the conservation of outdoor sculpture where the treatment work was carried out, as well as the decision-making process and preservation activities integral to the care and maintenance of the Museum’s beloved collection of outdoor sculpture.

We hope you will join us via Zoom.

Please RSVP by Tuesday, October 19, to specialevents@artbma.org.

 

The conservation of Alexander Calder’s Four Dishes is supported by the Maryland State Arts Council.

 
Back in the Sculpture Gardens: The Recent Conservation of Alexander Calder’s Four Dishes is sponsored by J. P. Morgan Private Bank.