Lake Forest Library to restore historic murals in building’s main entrance
Following the repair to the building’s dome earlier this year, the Lake Forest Library is set to restore the murals in the building’s rotunda installed in 1932.
On Dec. 12, Library Board trustees unanimously approved a $266,000 contract to repair the paintings created by artist Nicolai Remisoff on a series of panels in the building’s main entrance.
Library Executive Director Ishwar Laxminarayan said library officials discovered damage to the paintings many years ago. However, with the possibility that water from the leaking dome was the source of the problem, the decision was made to fix the dome.
That project was completed in August, allowing the focus to shift to the 12 paintings, where eight are on canvas and four painted directly on the wall.
“That was the intent of the board that this would be the next project,” Laxminarayan said. “There is significant appreciation for the art. These murals are almost as old as the library itself.”
The Remisoff Murals are titled, “Poets and Artists of Antiquity,” representing iconic figures including Homer, Socrates, Aristotle and Plato. They were installed one year after the building opened.
The art deco murals created by the Russianborn Remisoff in 1887, who after moving to the Chicago area was commissioned to create art projects in several places, including the Library.
Laxminarayan anticipated the scope of the work on the large panels would be a restoration and cleaning, plus determining if there is any plaster damage on the walls behind the paintings.
Library Board trustees signed off on a bid of $233,000 for the mural restoration work, with another $33,000 for contingencies. Funding will come through a private donation from the Friends of the Lake Forest Library, a private group that supports library efforts.
“It is important because of the attachment the Friends has for the library itself,” Friends grant committee chairwoman Jan Gibson said. “We want to do whatever the library wants us to do,”
Laxminarayan expects the repairs to start in February, and the project to last about eight weeks.
He noted they are important to the community.
“There is a lot of respect and affection for these murals,” he said.
Corresponding with the
restoration, Laxminarayan said there was a possibility of lectures to students of all ages on the significance of the murals, along with a webcam livestreaming the project.
“Not only will it enhance the visual element of the rotunda, we also see it as a way to re-educate the community on the history and the value of these murals and reignite that interest in the library,” he said.
The murals were last restored in 1997, according to Laxminarayan.