Join us as conservators Mark Bockrath and Barbara Buckley share the remarkable story behind the conservation of Daniel Garber’s A Wooded Watershed, an 11’ x 22’ mural painted in 1926 for Philadelphia’s sesquicentennial celebration. The work spent many years at the Forestry School of Penn State’s Mont Alto campus before being acquired by the Michener Art Museum in 1994.

The conservation project began with the mural’s deinstallation at Mont Alto, followed by careful rolling and transport to a dedicated workspace in West Chester. There, a team of conservators undertook an extensive treatment: repairing holes, flattening distortions in the canvas, removing decades of accumulated grime, and inpainting areas of loss. Once stabilized and restored, the mural was transported by truck to the Museum for installation in a newly prepared gallery.

During treatment, the team uncovered elements of Garber’s design that had been obscured in its previous installation. Most striking was the renewed brilliance of his palette, revealed after cleaning. These discoveries not only deepened our understanding of the mural but also revitalized appreciation for Garber’s artistic vision.