Painting of Mercury Astronauts removed before O Club Demolition
Preserving a piece of NAS Patuxent River’s history, conservators removed a 12×20-foot mural of astronauts Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, Scott Carpenter and John Glenn from the wall above the doorway of the abandoned Officers Club — or O Club — located on Cedar Point Road across the street from the Chesapeake Bay.
Painted in oil on linen canvas and dedicated in 1986, the large mural, titled “Naval Aviation in Space,” was created by artist George McWilliams during the time he was employed at Pax River from 1981-1987 as a draftsman/illustrator.
“It commemorates the early astronauts trained here at the Test Pilot School,” said Mike Smolek, Pax River’s cultural resources manager. “McWilliams eventually left Pax River to become a fulltime painter and muralist and this was one of his first major murals.”
Smolek explained that the O Club was a popular assembly space for not only base gatherings but community functions as well, when the base was still accessible to the public.
“It was a large social venue in St. Mary’s County for a long time,” he added. “Organizations held special dinners and events there and even proms were held there. Thousands of people have seen the mural over the years as they left the building. It represents Pax River’s role in national history and emphasizes the significance of what is done here. The Maryland Historical Trust considers it of intrinsic historical value to the base.”
With the building slated for demolition, saving the mural became a priority.
“We were very concerned that, first, this important piece of naval aviation art was beyond salvaging and, second, that we weren’t going to be able to find a way to save it,” Smolek said. “But the staff at Pax River’s Public Works recognized its significance and found a way to make it happen.”
The mural was removed, stabilized and placed into storage with the eventual goal of having it put on display at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum (PRNAM).
“Ownership will be taken over by the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, which is part of the Naval History and Heritage Command,” Smolek said. “Because it’s a heritage asset, however, the painting will not physically leave the area. It’ll be formally loaned to the [PRNAM] and exhibited.”
Prior to removal, conservators cleaned the surface to remove the majority of grime and soiling from the painting’s surface and applied a protective consolidating facing.
“It’s a spun bound tissue that’s put on with an easily reversible adhesive,” explained David Olin, chief conservator and owner of Olin Conservation Inc. “That gives some stability to the paint layers should the process of removing the canvas cause any disruption. The protective consolidating facing holds the paint so it’s not lost.”
Since a strong adhesive was originally used to bind the painting to the wall, the mural was removed mechanically — meaning no solvents were used and nothing was dissolved — by shearing off the drywall paper to which the canvas was still attached and rolling it face-in onto a tube, which was a quicker and less stressful manner of removal.
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Posted on January 19, 2018 in Blog