A 1987 sculpture by artist George Segal, Abraham’s Farewell to Ishmael, has undergone a complete restoration by Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) thanks to a recent grant award received through the Bank of America Art Conservation Project. This is the second year that PAMM received a grant, used exclusively to treating the sculpture. The conservation effort included repairs to areas with intensive damage throughout the rock including: flaking paint, cracks, and correction of many retouches and overpaints visible throughout the work and that occurred before the piece came into the permanent PAMM collection.
Segal’s Abraham’s Farewell to Ishmael is a sculptural representation of a key event in the Old Testament around a dilemma faced by the patriarch Abraham. Segal cast the figures from real models, capturing a range of human emotions.
“Conservation is an important art in itself and we are fortunate enough to have works in our collection of such historical importance and meaning to our patrons,” said PAMM Director Franklin Sirmans. “Through Bank of America’s consistent support, which extends back to the earliest acquisitions in our collection, we are able to not only showcase these works to the community, but also be the best caretakers of these pieces so they can be shown and enjoyed for years to come.”
“Miami has steadily become an important arts destination,” said Gene Schaefer, Bank of America Miami market president. “It is long-standing partnerships with arts organizations, like PAMM, that have made a difference in fostering a vibrant cultural arts community, connecting people of diverse backgrounds and positively impacting our thriving economy.”
The Bank of America Art Conservation Project is a unique program that provides grants to nonprofit museums throughout the world to conserve historically or culturally significant works of art that are in danger of deterioration. Since the program’s launch in 2010, Bank of America has provided grants to museums in 29 countries supporting more than 100 conservation projects. Other conservation projects include ‘Blue Boy’ a painting by Thomas Gainsborough at The Huntington Library in Los Angeles, a painting by Claude Monet at the Kimbell Art Museum in Ft. Worth, Texas; an Andy Warhol piece at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago; and three paintings at the Dalí Museum in Tampa/St. Petersburg. Fla.
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