Restoration of the CPS Art Collection -Works Progress Administration (WPA) Murals and Other Works of Art

 
  
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 In 1908, Kate Buckingham, President of the Chicago Public Schools Art Society, commissioned ten murals at Lane Technical High School. Forty more murals from the General Motors Exhibition Hall at the World's Fair "Century of Progress" became a part of Lane's collection in 1934. Additional works were added during the WPA era, including a fire curtain - a 20-foot x 43-foot WPA painting of a Native American - created in 1936. The widespread popularity of the murals with the public generated great pride at Lane Technical High School.

Over the years, the mural collection at Lane suffered serious deterioration. The fire curtain was covered for twenty years. In 1995, Principal David Schlichting and teacher Flora Doody initiated the Mural Restoration Project, an effort to save this important collection. Project funds were raised by the Chicago Board of Education, the Lane Technical High School Alumni Association, the Lane Technical High School PTSA, and from various student activities. Eleven murals (the original ten from 1908 and the fire curtain) were restored with these funds between 1995 - 1998. A cross-curriculum guide, Chicago: The City in Art, was developed with the support of the Art Institute of Chicago. This project encouraged similar programs in other public schools in Chicago with original works of art. In August 1996, CPS dedicated additional funding to restore seven more WPA murals located at other schools and in December of 1997, resources for the restoration of another ten murals were allotted.

In 1997, as part of the major capital renovation and demolition schedule for a large number of facilities, the Department of Operations identified the need for art consulting services. A local firm was hired to locate, inventory and appraise the artworks, artifacts and antiques possessed by Chicago Public Schools. The implementation of this task took four years. Nearly 8,000 objects were located, of which 1,500 turned out to be original murals, paintings, sculptures and works on paper. It was the first complete account of the CPS Art Collection. The collection falls into five different categories: American Impressionism, WPA Paintings and Works on Paper, Early 20th Century American Painters, Modern Masters, and Portrait Collection by such well known artists as Grant, Bohrod, Ufer, Dali and Scott.

Between 1998 - 2000, the collection of forty murals donated by General Motors at Lane Technical High School were restored as well as many other murals and paintings in dozens of other CPS schools. Nearly 300 artworks in total will be restored by the end of year 2000 and another 138 will be conserved between 2000 - 2001.

In 2000, the CPS Art Collection came under the responsibility of the Office of Language, Cultural and Early Childhood Education (OLCECE). OLCECE continues the conservation work and shares the collection with students, parents, teachers, administrators and the general public through a series of initiatives listed below:

1. Restoration. Significant murals and paintings in need of conservation will continue to be restored. In July 2000, CPS committed major funding to restore 72 paintings and 66 murals over the following 18 months. The restoration is to be done by a Chicago-based restoration company. Approximately 90% of the conservation treatment will be completed by Spring 2001.

2. Photographic Documentation. These images will be available as teaching tools (slides and transparencies) via the "cpsart.org" website and publications.x

3. Web Site. The web site offers information related to the conservation and exhibition of the CPS Art Collection and related programs.

4. Traveling Exhibition. This program takes the CPS Art Collection to each school region in the city, sharing it with students, parents, teachers and administrators.

5. Curriculum. Representative pieces from the collection along with their artistic, historical and social significance will be presented as K - 12 curriculum. This curriculum will be made available to the public via publications and the "cpsart.org" website.

6. Teacher Professional Development. This program is based on the conservation and historical relevance of artworks in the collection and utilizes the traveling exhibitions as context for this training.

7. Student's Docent Program. Students will learn about the conservation, history, artists and aesthetics of collection pieces in their own schools.		 
   
cpsart.org 2002

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