The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka

During the Summer of 2024, I served as the pre-program art conservation intern working under a Save’s America Treasures Grant. This was a fantastic learning opportunity under a team of 12 conservators and technicians. As a team, we were tasked to treat the large central portion of the St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic church’s ceiling painted by Maxo Vanka. This large project included many Pittsburgh-based conservators from various specialties: easel painting, wall paintings, objects, and paper. These water-sensitive plaster murals that had undergone extensive water damage from previous leaks in the roof created a unique and challenging project. This summer, I learned conservation treatment techniques and skills, as well as how to edit treatment photos and mural analysis. I gained tremendous knowledge regarding the infiltration of salts on plaster murals. It was a project that required excellent attention to detail and teamwork to ensure the entirety of the section was accurate and treated to the highest standard throughout.

My tasks included:
- dry and acqueous cleaning
- consolidation with funori
- inpainting with guache and watercolors
- capture, organize, and edit treatment photos
- helping to write condition reports

Conservators I worked with on this project:Ana Alba Lead Conservator: Painting Conservation | Alba Art Conservation
Naomi Ruiz Kress Conservation Fellow: Conservation of Decorative Architectural Surfaces
Jessica Keister Photographic and Paper Material Conservation | Steel City Art Conservation
Patricia Buss Painting and Polychrome Sculpture Conservation
Cynthia Fiorini Painting Conservation
Cricket Harbeck Archaeological Object Conservation | Cricket Harbeck LLC.
Patty Huss West Object Conservation
Rhonda Wozniak Object Conservation | Rhonda Wozniak Objects Conservator, LLC
Angelica Marks Conservation Technician
Kate Pirilla Conservation Technician