ArtsWednesday, November 11
The Taft Museum unveiled two Duncanson murals that were hidden for more than 150 years
The 5AM Covington team
If you love local art history, you have a new reason to visit the Taft. The museum unveiled two Robert S. Duncanson murals Tuesday that had been covered up for more than 150 years. Conservator Michael Ruzga spent five months this summer stripping back seven layers of grime, paint and plaster.
The Duncanson murals went from painted to hidden to restored
- 1850-52Duncanson paints eight landscapes and four still lifes on Nicholas Longworth's walls.
- 1870sThe murals are covered by wallpaper.
- 1932The home opens as the Taft Museum of Art and the wallpaper is stripped away.
- Nov. 10The Taft unveils two restored overdoor murals.
- Oct. 2027The Duncanson retrospective opens at the Taft.
- Feb. 2028The Cincinnati run of the retrospective ends.
Sources: WVXU, Cincinnati Enquirer
The restoration is a prelude to a retrospective co-organized with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. "There hasn't been one for over 30 years," said the Taft's Ellen Roberts.
- Cincinnati run: Oct. 30, 2027, to Feb. 6, 2028
- Virginia stop: Apr. 8 to July 23, 2028
- Catalogue: co-published with Yale University Press
- Also planned: a traveling digital interactive and a children's book
about 80paintings in the Duncanson retrospective
The show debuts in Cincinnati with approximately 80 paintings and ephemera.
Source: WVXU
Sources: WVXU, Cincinnati Enquirer