Case Study: BRONZE

Harriet Ketchum and Carl Rohl-Smith
SOLDIERS & SAILORS
Capitol Grounds of the State of Iowa

On the Capitol Grounds of the State of Iowa stands a 140‘ tall monument to Soldiers and Sailors who fought and lost their lives in our country’s Civil War. Commissioned to Harriet Ketchum in 1892, it was completed after the artist’s death by Carl Rohl-Smith in 1897. The granite monument supports heroic sized bronze sculptures on the first three levels and is capped by a twenty foot tall figure of a classical “Victory” on the top.

Work in 2004 concentrated on the bronzes located on the lower three levels. Here the scaffolding encloses our work area on the Iowa Civil War Soldiersand Sailors’ Monument.	General Samuel Ryan Curtis and his horse are badly corroded prior to conservation treatment in 2004.
	After conservation treatment, the corrosion products have been fully removed and a stable brown chemical patina has been applied in its place. The glossy coating will slow the rate of decay of the outdoor sculpture of Union General Curtis.
<— Main Monuments & Sculpture Portfolio

Our contract in 2004 encompassed the cleaning and re-patination of bronze figures on the first through third levels. Our client was interested in obtaining a conservation treatment that would endure for several years, possibly without maintenance care. Iowa’s Civil War Soldiers and Sailors’ Monument is shown here after we have completed conservation treatment on the three bronze figures located on the first level.