Janet W. Hessling Fine Art Conservation

Both these artists worked in 1918 to decorate the Illinois State Capitol. Grafton's paintings of Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce are on canvas that is glued to the walls. Schanbacher, a decorative artist, painted four eagles in the rotunda directly on the plaster, probably working with a crew of painters. Working with Evergreene Painting Studios of New York and Chicago, Janet Hessling supervised the consolidation and cleaning of these murals, which not only involved removal of grime, but also of heavy discolored overpaint that had been applied in the 1970s.