On Sunday, November 3, the Walters Art Museum and its conservation lab—the third oldest in the country—turn 90! Since our founding, the Walters’ mission has been to bring art and people together for enjoyment, discovery, and learning. Protecting and preserving the 36,000 books, paintings, statues, and other art objects that make up our distinctive permanent collection is critical to achieving our mission. That’s where you come in.

The Walters Art Museum’s third-annual Day of Giving is an opportunity for art lovers like you to make a tangible impact on objects in our collection that need pressing treatment and research. This year, our conservation team is working on several Latin American art objects that will go on view in Latin American Art / Arte Latinoamericano, the museum’s first permanent exhibition dedicated to this important area of our collection, opening in May 2025.

To celebrate 90 years of forging connections between people and art from cultures around the world, we’re asking for your help to reach our goal of raising $9,000 toward the expense of treating and researching these objects, many of which have never been on permanent display at the museum. Every gift makes an impact and supports the work of the conservation team at the Walters. When you make a gift now through November 3, your impact will be doubled thanks to a generous matching pledge!

More About This Year’s Conservation Objects

This year our conservation team is focused on a variety of objects from Latin America that are being prepared for inclusion in our upcoming exhibition Latin American Art / Arte Latinoamericano.

Conservation Scientist Annette S. Ortiz Miranda examines a Panamanian gold pendant with a double-headed alligator.

Gold Objects from Panama: The Walters’ ancient Latin American collection has grown significantly in recent years, but it began with founder Henry Walters, who purchased a group of Central American gold objects from the jeweler Tiffany & Co. in 1911. Although other pieces of gold in the collection have been previously studied and analyzed, the works collected by Henry Walters have not been.

Angie Elliott, Terry Drayman-Weisser Head of Objects Conservation and William B. Ziff, Jr. Conservator of Objects, and Annette S. Ortiz Miranda, Conservation Scientist, will conduct research on and analysis of 15 gold objects, which are thought to be from the region around modern Panama. The work will include examining and documenting evidence of manufacturing techniques such as tool marks, casting marks, joinery, and gold-enriched surfaces using microscopy and imaging, while scientific analysis using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy will help us determine how the pieces were made and with what alloys. The results from this study will help contextualize the pieces with other gold objects from the region.

Objects Conservator Angie Elliott works on the sculpture of Macuilxochitl in the conservation lab.

Sculpture of Macuilxochitl: This sculpture of Aztec deity Macuilxochitl, patron god of gamblers, has a long history. It was created by Aztec artisans in Puebla, Mexico, circa 1400–1520; owned by the de la Hidalga family on a Mexican hacienda; made its way into the collection of artist Edouard Pingret, who transported it to Paris; and then traveled to Baltimore after it was purchased by Henry Walters.

The sculpture now presents as unpainted stone with shell inlay eyes, as it did in Pingret’s illustrations from the mid-1800s, but it likely would have been covered in stucco and painted when it was created by the Aztecs. Angie has been examining the sculpture using a portable digital microscope and digital imaging techniques that use different wavelengths of light to look for traces of original paint that could still exist. She hopes to find enough paint traces to determine the work’s original color scheme.

Conservation Intern Daniela González-Pruitt retouches “Our Lady of Guadalupe.”

Our Lady of Guadalupe Painting: This small oil on canvas depicting “Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe” dates to the 18th or 19th century and was given to the museum conservation lab for treatment and study by a former Walters curator. The painting was unsupported and unstable when it arrived, and it is undergoing a comprehensive rehabilitation prior to its exhibition.

Conservation Scientist Annette S. Ortiz Miranda conducted scientific analysis that clarified changes made to the painting over time, particularly to the Virgin's mantle, which would have originally featured a specific decorative gold star pattern. Using XRF mapping, Annette discovered that these decorative elements had been overpainted with a dark blue mantle featuring an invented pattern of white flowers inconsistent with the Virgin’s iconography.

Conservation Intern Daniela González-Pruitt, supervised by Head of Paintings Conservation Karen French and Paintings Conservator Pamela Betts, is carefully retouching the painting to reintegrate small paint losses and restore clarity to the image. She is also reattaching unstable paint flakes, removing persistent grime, and completing structural work including reweaving the torn edges of the original canvas support.

Your Day of Giving contribution will allow us to preserve and study these objects before they take their place in our Latin American art exhibition next spring. Please help us reach our goal of raising $9,000 in celebration of our 90th anniversary. A gift of just $9 will make a huge impact now and for generations to come!

Walters Day of Giving 2024

Celebrating 90 years of art conservation at the Walters Art Museum