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.

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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: adconsults@gmail.com.

Donations may be made online: www.vankamurals.org.

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SPMMMV 151 Stone Gate Drive Leechburg, PA 15656

724-845-2907 vankamurals@aol.com

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.