Restoration Project: ceiling of the north portico

Description of the Project

The repair and conservation of the ceiling to the north portico, with associated roof repair works. The painting to the underside of the ceiling had significantly degraded and the plaster work, up to 2 inches thick in some areas had become loose over the main Palace entrance.

Background

The eyes were originally painted in 1928 for Gladys Deacon, the American-born second wife of the 9th Duke of Marlborough. The dramatic eyes, depicting three blue and three brown, were painted by the decorative painter and artists, Colin Gill. Gladys, who was famed for her blue eyes, is said to have climbed the scaffold to give the artist a bright blue silk scarf to work from. It is of note that there are very few other signs of Gladys Deacon at the Palace aside from a single photograph inside the Palace State Rooms, and on the faces of the stone sphinxes in the Lower Water Terraces.

The reason for the unusal eyes being painted remains something of a mystery and has baffled the historians as there is no written documentation about them. Speculation has included possible connections to the mystical 'number three' and the symbolic 'evil eye', or that the brown eyes could belong to the American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt, first wife of the 9th Duke.

An early photograph showing the eyes being painted has a caption by Gladys "Colin Gill painting our eyes". For this reason they are believed to be the eyes of the Duke and Duchess watching over the Palace.

Project objective

The project had 2 main elements to it:

To conserve the original plaster and paintwork, and thereafter restore the ceiling to its former grandeur. To repair the portico ceiling to prevent water ingress and further damage to the roof structure, plaster and painting.

One of our main challenges in this project was to achieve the correct balance between conservation and restoration in a very visible area of the Palace.

Strategy for implementation

Due to the need for extensive scaffold and the disruption to the main entrance we needed to carry out the works quickly and with minimal impact on the visitor season, we therefore programmed the works to start in December 2007. This type of work is very susceptible to cold weather damage during its progress, we therefore had to create a scaffold with an enclosed and heated area just under the ceiling, whilst scaffolding over the portico roof itself to facilitate the roof repairs.

The project took 16 weeks.

Method deployed

The restoration of the eyes has involved intricate repairs to the plaster work and conservation of the original paint work by a team of specialists from Nimbus Conservation. Expert gilders from Campbell smith used over 6,000 sheets of 24 carat gold leaf for the restitution of the gilded areas, to return the eyes to their former glory.

The portico roof was stripped off, the existing timbers either replaced where they were beyond salvage or reinforced with steel girders, a small area also needed to be re-tiled with blue welsh slates to match the originals.

Outcome / Result evaluation

The works were completed on time and on budget at a cost in the region of £150K, the retored eyes now provide a striking welcome to visitors who dwell long enough to gaze up on arriving at the Palace front door.

the works done to the roof will ensure that the eyes are there for visitors to see for decades to come.