Pt. Beach's Maura Duffy-Vergari: Our Town's Connection to Preserving History @ Gettysburg!
As we honor the 150th Anniversary of The Gettysburg Address today, I'd like to acknowledge Maura Duffy-Vergari of Pt. Pleasant Beach NJ for her commitment to restoring & preserving our nation's history through her art.
Duffy-Vergari had no clue when we graduated together in 1977 that her love for Art class at Pt. Beach High School would lead her to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to work on the restoration of the famous Gettysburg Cyclorama painting as a senior painting conservator.
She has been an active member of the American Institute for Conservation since 1987 and the Washington Conservation Guild since 1988. Duffy-Vergari, an accomplished painting conservator, earned a Bachelor of Art Degree in Art History from the University of Delaware in 1983.
While studying at the University of Delaware, Maura motivated by her love for art pursued entrance into the foreign studies program offered by the University of Delaware, which led her to London, England. While studying in London, Duffy-Vergari discovered her passion for conservation and restoration work.
After graduating from the University of Delaware, she chose to continue her studies at the Instituto Per L'Arte E Il Restauro in Florence, Italy. She spent three years in Italy studying European techniques for restoration and conservation of paintings on canvas, wood and wall supports.
In 2003, Maura's hard work paid off as she became part of a team of painting conservators commissioned to restore the Gettysburg Cyclorama, originally painted in 1884 to depict Pickett's charge on the Union soldiers in the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Reporter Martha Raffaele, of the Associated Press, wrote an article entitled "Gettysburg Painting Getting New Home" which was picked up by the Washington Post wire service in 2007. I wanted to share it here because it defines incredible details tied to the Gettysburg's Cyclorama Restoration Project and Maura's extraordinary contributions:
The Associated Press
Thursday, September 20, 2007; 3:59 AM
GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- Slowly but surely, a 123-year-old oil painting designed to place viewers in the middle of the climactic, ill-fated Confederate assault on Union Army troops during the Battle of Gettysburg is returning to its former glory in a new home.
A team of conservators has begun installing the 14 original sections that comprise French artist Paul D. Philippoteaux's 360-degree canvas inside a museum and visitor center under construction at Gettysburg National Military Park.
The canvas has been cleaned and is being mended before each section is hoisted into place with a system of ropes and pulleys. The conservators work atop a temporary platform in the gallery, kneeling on rubber mats and leaving their shoes off to protect the material.
The final phase will include painting in a swath of sky that was trimmed from the original 1884 cycloramic painting _ pieces of it had been used over the years to patch holes _ and filling in damaged areas.
"To get it to this point is really a miracle," said Maura Duffy, a senior conservator working on the project. "Most of the things I've worked on that are large ... have been murals, and they're attached to walls, so they're stable. This is hanging on its own."
The cyclorama restoration began in 2003 as part of a broader fundraising campaign to improve the national park, which attracts nearly 2 million tourists annually. The $103 million museum and visitor center is expected to open in April. The cyclorama, which accounts for $11 million of the cost, will be on public display next September.
It depicts Pickett's Charge, the dramatic Union Army stand against the Confederate troops on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the final day of battle. Philippoteaux, aided by several assistants, based his work on hundreds of battlefield sketches he made, a series of panoramic photographs and interviews with battle veterans.
The cyclorama was first exhibited in Boston, then shipped to other cities and later cut into sections for display in a New Jersey department store. The National Park Service purchased the painting in 1942 and moved it to a new visitor center in 1962, but officials discovered the facility was far from ideal, park spokeswoman Katie Lawhon said.
"There was a big flat roof that we could not stop from leaking," Lawhon said. "The painting also was not properly hung _ it was stretched at the top, but allowed to hang loose at the bottom, like a shower curtain."
In the new facility, the painting will be displayed in its original hyperbolic shape, meaning the canvas will be stretched at the top and bottom to form a cylinder curved inward, creating a more three-dimensional effect.
In the process of removing grime and materials such as wax that were applied to strengthen the canvas, conservators discovered that previous repair efforts resulted in some embellishments, Duffy said. One area that originally showed a young boy holding one end of a stretcher was painted over to depict him carrying buckets instead, and a tree was added to cover one damaged area, she said.
"The tree's not supposed to be there, so we took that off," Duffy said.
David L. Olin, the project's lead conservator, said the original painting has held up remarkably well, considering its age and the punishment it has taken over the years. It even survived two storage-shed fires.
"It's deteriorated, but given what it's been through, I've seen a whole lot worse," Olin said. "I like to think about the fact that we have gotten to the painting in time to avoid the inevitable."
*** End of article
Duffy-Vergari's expertise in her field has helped her to gain other impressive professional experiences that include performing annual examinations and treatments of the murals housed at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
She has also worked to help restore National Landmarks such as the White House Visitor's Center in DC and the United States Customs House in New York City. The US Customs House was originally built in 1899 and houses an impressive collection of wall murals from Reginald Marsh which Duffy-Vergari helped to preserve and restore.
Another project she worked on during the first decade of her career included the restoration of the Allen County Court House in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which houses the famous work of artist, Charles Holloway.
Most recently in addition to working in Gettysburg, Maura was commissioned to help restore the paintings in the rotunda of the National Archives. The murals titled, The Constitution and The Declaration, were painted by well know American mural artist Barry Faulkner.
Duffy-Vergari married Antonio Vergari in 1989. Their son Tony is a 2012 graduate of Point Pleasant Beach High School and an undergraduate at Penn State University.
A few years ago, The Pt. Beach Class of 1977 was proud that our classmate Maura Duffy-Vergari was inducted into the Point Pleasant Beach Public Education Foundation Hall of Fame in recognition of her many accomplishments.
Today, as we look back 150 years and remember Abraham Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address, it's exciting to share Our Town's small connection to preserving this history and the story of this exceptional professional woman, artist and conservator who returns national treasures - like the Gettysburg Cyclorama - to their original state of glory."
Today, I pause to celebrate Maura Duffy-Vergari for using her many gifts and talents for the benefit of future generations. Her life's work and commitment to this vocation has made Pt. Beach and our nation proud!
