Mohonk Artworks Restoration Project (Part 2)

By: Nell Boucher, Archivist, Mohonk Mountain House

Updated February 4, 2025

Most artworks at Mohonk Mountain House were selected by the founders, Albert, Eliza, Daniel, and Effie, during 1880-1910, when they were furnishing the Mountain House. Many frames are originals and were handmade on-site. For this second part of the Mohonk Artworks Restoration Project, we focused on the process of restoring the frame for “Mohonk Carriage Road” by Nelson Augustus Moore. If you missed it, you can see the work done in part one here!

In April 2018, we released a small catalog of our New Paltz resort’s oil paintings called Paintings at Mohonk: Visions of our Surroundings by Sanford Levy, which includes 29 beautifully reproduced images of some of Mohonk’s oil painting collection. Artists whose paintings are featured in the catalog are Daniel Huntington, Nelson Augustus Moore, Dorothea Litzinger, Morris Hall Pancoast, Joseph Tubby, Bayard Henry Tyler, Kruseman Van Elten, Henry Van Ingen, Frank Waller, Carl Newland Werntz, and John Williamson. On your next visit, slow down and browse this collection, which begins in the Winter Lounge, proceeds to the Grove Parlor on the first floor, the Main Parlor, and spirals up the Central Staircase. 

Process

The frame’s restoration process began with building up the broken areas, making molds or sculpting replacement pieces by hand, and finishing with gilding. Our initial evaluation after a cleaning and stabilization:

As this painting was glued into the frame, it had to remain and was covered. A mold was made of the edge detail and used as a “stamp” to give an indication of what will be hand-sculpted into place around the frame.

A special clay from England was used to replace the missing composition. After it hardened, the new areas were painted in the appropriate “bole” color, and gold was replaced according to what was originally used. In this case, a gold leaf paint, gilder’s paste, and a touch of composition leaf were used. Then, proper patina was applied to give the frame back its aged glory, along with a “good shellacking” for added wear.

Once the project was complete, “Mohonk Carriage Road” was placed back in its home in the Winter Lounge! This painting was also included in the forthcoming release of Paintings at Mohonk: Visions of our Surroundings by Sanford Levy, which is available in our Gift Shop for purchase.

Click here to learn more about the history of Mohonk Mountain House, our Victorian castle resort!