End of the 2018 Summer Mural Conservation Process

The Summer 2018 Conservation of the Mexican Cultural Institute’s murals is coming to an end.

Thanks to a grant from the Bank of America Art Conservation Project, the Institute welcomed expert art conservationists and their students from the National School of Conservation, Restoration, and Museography (ENCRyM) of the National Institute of Anthropology and History to perform a months-long restoration of the murals.

The project treated the alterations and deterioration from natural aging and anthropologic causes to restore the fresco, now more than 70 years old, to its original state. This timely revitalization of a cherished work of art allowed it to continue to serve as a valuable education resource and emblem of cultural diplomacy.

The Mexican Cultural Institute’s Roberto Cueva del Río Mural is a three-story visual narrative with six scenes that depict Mexico’s pre-Columbian past, working men and women, and the beauty of everyday life in the context of a broader global order and economic history. Painted between 1933-1941 along the staircase of the Mexican Embassy during the height of the Mexican Muralist movement, the Cueva del Río mural is now a cornerstone of the Mexican Cultural Institute’s guided tour program.

The Institute will continue observing limited summer hours and be closed on Saturdays until September 1.

Read more about the Bank of America Art Conservation Project >

Join us for a final talk on Aug 29 at 6:45pm at the Institute as we reveal our fully restored murals. The Mural Conservationists will give their final presentation on the murals with images of their progress in the past months, the conservation efforts and techniques, and answer questions from the public about the project.