Plans are underway to restore two iconic Greenbelt sculptures, the Preamble to the United States Constitution on the Community Center and the Mother and Child statue in Roosevelt Center. Both were sculpted by Lenore Thomas Straus while in her 20s, and both date back to the early days of the city, erected in 1937 and 1939, respectively.
For both works of art, the aim of the restoration is to reduce stains caused by airborne pollutants and biological growth and to enhance the sculpture’s structural integrity. This treatment was done previously, in 1999 and 2007. Said Greenbelt Museum Director Megan Young, “The goal is to preserve them for future generations.” Funds for this project were provided jointly by the Maryland Heritage Area Authority, which granted $29,500, and matching funds from the City of Greenbelt. The grants were jointly developed by the Department of Planning and Community Development and the Greenbelt Recreation Arts Program.
In addition to the treatment to the artwork, the windows above the Preamble will be repainted to prevent further rust stains. Arts Supervisor Nicole DeWald forecasts that the work will likely begin in the spring, since restorers will need good weather. Steps forward include receiving permission for the project from the Maryland Historical Trust, an agency of the Maryland Department of Planning. Also, the city council and city manager will choose a conservator from the bids received, a process that will take about 30 days. All parties involved will then come to an agreement on a final proposal which will include a schedule for the conservator.
Straus’ Work
Lenore Thomas Straus (1909- 1988) was commissioned by the Federal Resettlement Administration to create the sculptures. Her work, spanning the years 1937 to 1967, is installed in many states, including Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., and as far away as Norway. The two Greenbelt works employ the style of social realism, often seen in Soviet-era art, which depicts the “common, average working man,” in “stocky, sturdy forms,” said Young.
A native of Chicago, Straus was greatly influenced by a similar style of design she had seen there and incorporated that into these works. The Preamble, consists of seven bas reliefs, and depicts constitutional values such as justice and promoting the common good. Young feels that the common good relief is the most closely attached to the community, depicting the struggle to build a green space environment through planting flowers and highly prescient in its image of a family standing strong versus an impending war machine, an outcome that was still yet to occur prior to World War II.
Mother and Child took a year to finish and was created in Straus’s home studio in Accokeek, Md. Made from limestone, the final product weighs 15 tons. Young elaborated that the style for Mother and Child was seen as strange and off-putting to many at first because of its monolithic starkness. Young said that the work has been the victim of vandalism over the years, from burning tires to an actual attempt to tear it down with chains and a truck. Yet, said Young, the piece has definitively come into its own now and has become an image synonymous with the city.