Restoration of Independent Man nearly complete
PROVIDENCE — A group of conservators working in a makeshift studio in a corner of the Rhode Island Army National Guard Readiness Center is putting the finishing touches on the Independent Man statue, which could be completed in just a few weeks.
Inside a tarp-covered room with plywood walls, Mark Rabinowitz, a senior conservator for EverGreene Architectural Arts, is painstakingly adding 23.75 karat gold leaf to the statue.
Rabinowitz said the old bronze man has held up well over time.
During a demonstration Friday morning, Rabinowitz said the gap in the marble base atop the State House that supports the 11-foot-tall statue — and that led to it being removed — was caused by a lightning strike.
“It is very tall, and locally a point where lightning would be attracted to,” Rabinowitz said. “There are cables attached throughout the building for that possibility.”
But Laura Hart, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Department of Administration, said “we don’t know” how the statue’s base was damaged.
The statue, originally named “Hope,” was designed by George Brewster, cast by the Gorham Manufacturing Co. of Providence, and installed in 1899. It has come down from the dome just once, in 1975, for repairs and a new coat of gold leaf.
It weighs 1,400 pounds, Rabinowitz said.
“They designed the Rhode Island State House dome to be able to carry it rather than putting on a much lighter sculpture more like a weather vane, which is more typical. It shows the association of the artistry of Rhode Island’s history and its craftspeople, who were at their peak at that time, and are still continuing today.”
Rabinowitz and his team at EverGreene have worked on figures atop state and federal capitol domes, and specialize in the preservation of decorative art and architecture.
He said the Independent Man is unique because it was cast in bronze rather than wrought copper, a more manageable material.
One of the first things the conservators did was ensure the statue was structurally sound before it was taken down from its perch in January. It’s been thoroughly cleaned, and they removed corrosion that resulted from the gold leaf wearing out.
The replating is a four-step process (laser cleaning, gold electroplating repair, regilding, curing) that includes applying a finish coat of nearly pure gold. In a small sample area on the statue where the gold leaf has worn off, marked by blue tape, Rabinowitz demonstrated the application Friday, coating the area with adhesive and then brushing on the gold plating. Once the statue is fully leafed, it will be laid down and brought back to the State House.
“We should be done with our work, and it should be cured and ready to be moved after a few more weeks,” he said.
A self-described “technogeek,” Rabinowitz relishes the chance to work on the statue and admires the work of the original sculptor, as well as that of its conservators in the 1970s.
“It will look bright and beautiful and consistent with our goal, and the artist’s goal, and that is the criteria we work to,” he said. “I’ve worked on sculptures in the US and Europe, and I’m always fascinated by the techniques used in their restoration and also their repair.
“Even at a time when many of the crafts were at their nadir, Rhode Island maintained a very highly skilled workforce, and they put that to work here.”
Rabinowitz said the statue will glisten brilliantly and “represent the proud and honorable tradition of Rhode Island” when it is finished.