The final coat of flat black paint was applied to the Louise Nevelson sculpture Summer Night Tree today in downtown Jackson. Over the past three weeks, crews from Coats Industrial Painting of Otter Lake, Michigan have been at work on the $67,000 project to repair and restore the sculpture. Summer Night Tree is a 30-foot tall Cor-Ten steel compilation of geometric forms.
The restoration included removal of all previous paint coatings and corrosion and an application of layers of new protective coatings. The restoration is expected to maintain the sculpture for at least 30 years.
Summer Night Tree by Louise Nevelson was originally installed in the former plaza of One Jackson Square in 1978. Nevelson herself chose Jackson because of the city’s location to major universities and colleges. She felt that would offer students the opportunity to see her work first hand. Nevelson created many outdoor sculptures late in her life and is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th-Century American Sculpture.
In 1988, the sculpture was put into storage during parking lot reconstruction at the plaza in 1998. Three years later the sculpture was reinstalled at its current location at the comer of Michigan Avenue and Francis Street.
In preparation for restoration, The Jackson Public Arts Commission had the sculpture appraised by the Pace Gallery of New York City in 2015. The gallery, experts in the field of Nevelson’s work, appraised the sculpture at $4,000,000. Next, the McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory inspected the sculpture and made recommendations on restoration specifications.
The Jackson Public Art Commission announced today a public celebration of the restoration will be held on Friday, October 20 at 8 AM at the sculpture site. Further details will be announced in early October.
