Mural restoration experts have been working to uncover 20 angels hidden under layers of paint for more than a century Boston Church Made famous by Paul Revere.
Gianfranco Pocopin was working over the scaffolding in the Old North Church, revealing eight of the twenty angels that had been hidden.
Painted angels with childlike faces and wings were among the distinctive features of the Old Northern Church The oldest church building in BostonIt was painted around 1730. But the angels were painted in 1912 with thick layers of white paint as part of a renovation that conservators seek to reverse.
“When we first looked at the project six months ago, we had no idea what was here,” Poccobini said as the church prepared to unveil eight of the 20 angels.
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Restorer Corinne Long, of Dover, New Hampshire, restores the nearly 300-year-old painted angels on the walls of Old North Church, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, in Boston. (AP)
He continued: “It was a thrill to discover these really interesting and historical works of art on the walls of the church, which no one had ever seen in our lifetime.” “Just to be part of a project where we uncover something of colonial America is really extraordinary.”
the Old North Church It is famous for the lanterns hung from the church tower on the night of Paul Revere's voyage in April 1775 to warn of the coming of the British army. Revere was also a bell ringer at church as a teenager.
“For most of the history of the church, people who would come here to the church would have seen these angels, they would have seen the colorful interior,” said Emily Spence, associate director of education at Old North Illuminated. Old North Illuminated operates the church as a historic site.
“The color scheme was an important part of the identity of the people who worshiped here as members of the Church of England congregation,” she said.
A nearly 300-year-old painted angel appears on the wall of Old North Church, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, in Boston. (AP)
Efforts began in September to restore the sandstone and teal angels, eight of which were completed this month and another eight expected to be completed by the spring, Spence said.
Researchers knew based on the historical record that the angels were still on the walls, and they still had a copy of the contract signed with John Gibbs, one of the members of the group who painted them. A 2017 paint study confirmed it was still on the walls.
One of the challenges in restoring the angels is removing seven layers of paint without damaging the angels, said Corinne Long, a painting restoration specialist working with Boccobini. Conservators first applied a solvent gel to soften the layers of paint before removing them by hand using a plastic scraper. They then cleaned the angels with cotton swabs and retouched them to remove any signs of damage.
“They all have their own personality, they are not copies,” Pokobin said. “They were painted individually by artist John Gibbs and they are all in different poses, giving them a really nice rhythmic pattern on the roof of the church.”
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Recently restored, nearly 300-year-old painted angels, top right, decorate an arch at historic Old North Church in the North End neighborhood, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Boston. (AP)
One of the most satisfying parts of the project was restoring parts of the church to what the founders intended, Long said.
“Whenever I walk into a building with history, I am amazed to be surrounded by paintings or decorations that were originally there,” she said. “When they are repainted white, it takes away some of that grandeur and some of that history.”
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One day, the church was largely empty except for restoration workers. But two tourists, Sean Dixon and Sarah Jardine from California, were also there and walked the trails and noticed scaffolding that slightly obstructed the view.
“I was kind of shocked when I first saw it,” Dixon said. “It looks really cool, and I'm very excited to see the full picture once the scaffolding comes down.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
