AIC's 45th Annual Meeting

Frequent visitation to George Washington's Mount Vernon home has been a common occurrence since the 18th century, and sometimes, those visitors left a permanent memory. "Exposing Graffiti in Washington's Cupola” is about uncovering the signatures of guests visiting Mount Vernon during the 19th century and specifically leaving their mark in the iconic cupola. This paper will explore a change in an approach to treatment of the wood window architraves in the cupola that was initially designed to completely remove the existing coating, but was then modified to conserve specific layers of paint containing names, dates, and locations in pencil. Discussion will also cover varied techniques utilized for the pre and post treatment documentation of the architectural elements, including digital photography, measured drawings, computer generated modeling, and multi-spectral imaging. Lastly, the long-term maintenance and utilization of the architraves will address the plan for extending the life while displaying this unique piece of architectural history at Mount Vernon.