Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor
For about two weeks, visitors to the Queensbury Hotel lobby got a front-row view as art conservator Emily Phillips restored the signature Cooper’s Cave mural that hangs above the fireplace.
“This celebrated painting depicts an historic scene from James Fenimore Cooper’s Novel The Last of the Mohicans” — set at Cooper’s Cave, “beneath the Glens Falls-South Glens Falls bridge,” says the nameplate beneath the artwork.
Ms. Phillips began cleaning the mural on June 1; the project took two weeks.
Speaking with The Chronicle shortly before the project was completed, she said, “The painting has a significant dirt and grime layer that is being removed using an aqueous method.
“A varnish layer will be applied overall to not only resaturate the paint layer, but also act as a protective barrier from future accumulation of dirt and grime.
“As a conservator,” she said, “we are trained to examine the painting to understand the materials used by the artist to create the piece as well as the specific condition issues an object presents.
“Every painting is unique — the artist, the materials used, the subject matter, etc. The painting is in very good condition and has been well taken care of.”
It was last treated 50 years ago, in 1976, Mr. Herrick tells The Chronicle.
“A gentleman who worked at Andritz mentioned to Art Belden” — the Hotel’s Facilities Director — “that Andritz, which owned the hotel at the time, had someone clean it, and then had reproductions created.” Mr. Herrick said he’s been told those reproductions are still hanging at Andritz offices around the world.
Ms. Phillips said, “It’s actually been really a very satisfying cleaning. It’s so amazing to see how much dirt’s actually picked up on the surface in 50 years.”
She said, “There is no down time in a hotel lobby, so it’s been logistically challenging to not disrupt guests. However, everyone that has walked by is very excited to see the work in progress in addition to the newly redecorated lobby.
“The passing-by guests that are very familiar with this mural have all just been really blown away by the colors and the affect of the illumination of the light,” that has emerged as she removed decades of grime from the mural surface.
Ms. Phillips’ Phillips Art Conservation Studio is located in her hometown of Essex, on the west shore of Lake Champlain.
“I have been in the field of art conservation for approximately 25 years, in private practice 18 of those, specializing in the conservation of paintings. I travel on an as-needed basis.”
She’s done “a lot” of restoration work for the National Parks Service, typically smaller than the hotel’s mural.
“There are different pathways to becoming a conservator. I have a Master’s of Art in Art Conservation from Buffalo State College, and I am a professional associate of the American Institute for Conservation. I have a background in art history as well as an initial study in mechanical engineering. The field of art conservation focuses on a multidisciplinary approach of art history, studio art and understanding of artists materials and science.”
The mural conservation was part of a lobby upgrade in celebrating the Queensbury’s centennial.
A 2nd ‘Mohicans’ mural
As part of its 100th anniversary upgrade to the lobby, the Queensbury Hotel has installed a second, smaller mural on the north wall, above a newly created seating area by the front desk.
Mr. Herrick said he was contacted last fall by Leslie Brill of the Mamaroneck Historical Society in Westchester County.
“She stated that she had visited the Q a few times when the New York State Audubon Society was having conferences here, and she loved the mural. A local high school in her area had a series of murals painted on the walls of the cafeteria, all with scenes of James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales,” created in the 1930s and ’40s.
Cooper lived in Mamaroneck.
Ms. Brill suggested the Queensbury might be interested to have one restored and displayed at the hotel.
“Unfortunately,” Mr. Herrick said, “the one we wanted had already been restored and was hanging at a historic cinema” in Mamaroneck.
“We were able to get a reproduction created and installed in the lobby.”
The mural, by artist Harold Thresher, depicts The Defense of the Rock, also from The Last of the Mohicans.
The Mamaroneck Historical Society notes that Thresher, a World War II veteran, went on to create the “iconic” packaging and images for GI Joe, “a toy that every boy knows.”
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