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Conservation Team Reveals Original Colors of Maxo Vanka’s Murals at Pittsburgh Church

The project relies solely on reversible methods to expose Vanka’s original brushstrokes

Standing on a 32-foot-tall scaffold, conservation technician Celeste Parrendo works on touching up a mural by Maxo Vanka inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church, home to murals by Maxo Vanka, sits next to the Allegheny River in Millvale, Pa., Feb 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
A mural by Croatian-American artist Maxo Vanka titled "Transcendent Vision (including Disciples)" is seen in St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church after undergoing preservation efforts in Millvale, Pa., Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
A mural by Croatian-American artist Maxo Vanka titled "Christ on the Battlefield" is seen inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Overview

  • A crew of 16 concentrated from January through May on the upper-right walls and ceiling, revealing an Old Testament panorama of Moses and portraits of St. Matthew and St. Mark.
  • Conservators brushed and vacuumed decades of soot and grime before using pH-neutral solutions, cosmetic sponges and cotton swabs to restore details hidden by pollution.
  • Fine cellulose poultices repeatedly leached out corrosive sulfate salts while funori, an adhesive derived from seaweed, resecured flaking paint.
  • In areas of pigment loss, technicians applied matched watercolors and pastels sparingly to inpaint missing sections while ensuring all additions remain removable.
  • The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals and St. Nicholas parish have repaired the roof and installed a climate control system to guard against future environmental damage.