Sculpture Restorations and Conservation

Michael Keropian provides sculpture restoration and consultation services for a variety of clientele. He specializes in plaster, terra cotta, stone, wood, concrete, resin and bronze restorations. The following are a few of the sculpture conservation projects Michael has completed over 45 years.

Feel free to contact us with your sculpture restoration questions.

In 1980, Michael and two fellow sculpture students created an antique cast restoration project to restore the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Art's (PAFA) neglected collection of plaster cast sculptures. Thanks to the fine guidance of sculptor instructor Alexander Hromych they restored the Parthenon Frieze, Michelangelo's Slave, Houdon's L'Ecorche and John Paul Jones, and numerous Greek and Roman Sculptures created before and during the Renaissance, completing the three year project with the plaster restoration and hanging of the Ghiberti Doors. During this time, Michael was also working as conservation assistant to Conservator Virginia Naude and working on a sculpture rigging team for the P.A.F.A. Museum. The team also worked freelance and provided rigging services throughout the Philadelphia area.

While employed with the Tallix Foundry for ten years, there were many opportunities to work on sculptures that needed from little to major repair. Works by Charles Grafly, Donald Delue, Nathan Rapoport, Walker Hancock, Evangelos Frudakis, and Albert Wein to name a few. During this time he also restored a number of concrete columns and architectural elements for Dick's Castle which overlooks Constitution Island and West Point in NY. The latter project inspired the creation of Keropian Sculpture LLC in 1989.

He has been the technical advisor to the Albert Wein Estate since 1987. Mr. Wein passed away in 1991.

In 1996, he was asked to restore the National Academy of Design's cast of Houdon's L'Ecorche or "flayed -man". Art Students from around the world have used this figure to study human anatomy for over two centuries.

In 2006, he was asked to restore a number of plaster sculptures and frieze by Leo Friedlander for the Friedlander Estate.

Since 2010, Michael has been the conservator of sculpture for Fairfield University in Connecticut.

To find out more about these projects, click on the links below.

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