Penn State Abington Students Restore Historic Sculpture

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Mat Shetler, an art major at Penn State Abington, is helping to restore a replica of the Winged Victory of Samothrace. Photo courtesy of Regina Broscius.

PennStateAbgtn_SpcBlk287Students from Penn State Abington are working to restore a replica of the Winged Victory of Samothrace sculpture that was rescued from its temporary perch in the library last winter, according to a staff report from Penn State News.

The replica was purchased a century ago by Abby Sutherland, principal and owner of the Ogontz School for Girls, which moved to its present location, now Penn State Abington, in 1917.

Art faculty lecturer Chris Bonner saw an opportunity to research the history of the decaying sculpture and to teach his students about contemporary mold-making, while repairing the historic work of art. He directed an undergraduate research project to restore the statue together with art majors Hailey Rei Salamone and Mat Shetler.

Shetler spent 40 hours steam-cleaning the sculpture. The wings were then stabilized while Bonner created a brush-rubber mold of the bust to continue the restoration process.

While nowhere near finished, Bonner and his students are excited about their progress and can’t wait to bring the fully restored statue back to its former glory.

Read more about the restoration from Penn State News by clicking here.

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