Historic Murals on UAlbany Downtown
Campus to be Restored
Contact: Lisa
James Goldsberry (518) 437-4980
ALBANY, N.Y.
(August 7, 2003) -- The first of 14 historic murals at the
University at Albany's Milne Hall, showing scenes from the
history of the Capital Region, will be restored in an ambitious
project beginning this month. The murals, which were painted
from 1933 to 1946 by artist David Cunningham Lithgow (1868-1958),
were a gift to the college by the graduating class of the
Milne School.
The project will be open for viewing August
11-15, from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Milne
Hall, 135 Western Avenue. Special interactive sessions,
where the restorers will answer questions and discuss their
work, will be held on Thursday, August 14 and Friday, August
15, 2-4 p.m. The restoration project for the murals
is under the direction of conservator Joyce Zucker of the
Peebles Island Resource Center. The entire project, which
will take approximately three years to complete, is estimated
to cost $100,000.
Lithgow is also known as an accomplished
sculptor and received numerous commissions, including the
monument (St. Andrew) in the Albany Rural Cemetery and the
Spanish War Memorial on Henry Johnson Blvd. He also painted
the murals on regional history on the ceiling of The State
Bank of Albany (now Fleet Bank on State Street). Born in Scotland,
Lithgow emigrated to New York City in 1888. His first portrait
commission was of the actress Lily Langtry.
The murals have always
resided in the room for which they were commissioned. Originally
the library for the Milne School, it is now the Dr. Theodore
H. Fosseick Milne Alumni Room. The Milne School was part of
the New York State College for Teachers, which eventually
became the University at Albany.
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