Conducted as part of a Getty Foundation Grant received with Gregory Saldana (Principal Investigator), and Frank Matero this work involved detailed documentation of two threatened portions of the formal gardens of the historic winter residence of James Deering of International Harvester fame.
Working on-site myself and four interns produced over 120 field drawings and nine final 30”x 60” mylar sheets, a written history and a chronology of the construction of the two gardens in order to begin the process of conservation. This research and documentation formed the foundation for materials assessment for the conservation team from University of Pennsylvania headed by Frank Matero. The drawings allowed the materials assessment team to map all the surfaces of the stone architecture, sculpture and historic artifacts to determine conservation treatments while setting up a database to track current work and future conservation work. This documentation was the first detailed documentation of the site since its construction between the years 1916-1923. Much of the current conservation work done today is the product of this initial research and documentation.
