Stewardship & Conservation

Caring for our art collection is a fundamental component of Madison's Public Art Plan. We watch the collection, provide maintenance, and develop plans for at-risk works. We know many of the City's works are in need of conservation. Often conservation and maintenance of these treasures engages community input.

The Annie C. Stewart fountain is in Vilas Park near Erin Street. This was the original pedestrian entrance to the park. Frederick J Clasgens created the fountain in 1925. It honors the memory of Annie (Anna) C. Stewart (17 January 1867 – 8 April 1905). Stewart was a charitable community member who died by suicide.

A 2008 report noted the work needed to be conserved. In 2017 Madison Parks commissioned a conservation plan from InSite Consulting Architects. Madison Parks then budgeted for investigatory steps (3D scanning) recommended in the report. In 2022 we hired Conservation of Sculpture & Objects Studio, Inc. to complete these steps and propose a conservation plan. They provided the following:

• 2022 Review of Existing Conditions.
• July 10, 2023 Community Meeting Recording and Presentation (including FAQ).
• 2023 Assessment Report and associated attachments

You can find other reports including survey results in legistar. We are working with the Annie Stewart Fountain Work Group and City staff to determine next steps.

Recent Conservation Efforts

We recently completed several conservation projects on works in our collection. We had the Capitol Square Fountains by Heidi Natura and Sven Schunemann cleaned. New gravel and graffiti remediation at Timekeeper by Robert Curtis. Cleaning of Effigy Tree and Badger by Harry Whitehorse, and the Statue of Liberty replica donated by the Boy Scouts of America.