MILLVALE, Pa. (AP) — Workers have completed a phase of conservation work on historic murals by the late artist Maxo Vanka at St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church near Pittsburgh.
The vivid results underscore the original power of the murals, which Vanka painted more than 80 years ago, fusing traditional Catholic iconography with searing social commentary.
The team of more than a dozen workers cleaned off grime, extracted corrosive salts from the walls, stabilized plaster and delicately filled in areas of lost paint with new pastels and watercolors.
Working on a 32-foot-tall scaffold, art conservator Kate Pirelli works on cleaning a mural by Max Vanka inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Art conservator Jessica Keister works on a mural by Maxo Vanka depicting the hand of God handing a tablet to Moses, inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
A mural by Croatian-American artist Maxo Vanka titled “Christ on the Battlefield” is seen inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Art conservator Naomi Ruiz uses a cotton swab on a mural by Maxo Vanka that depicts the hand of God handing a tablet to Moses, inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Artist Maxo Vanka works on a mural inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., on Nov. 7, 1941. (AP Photo/William C. Allen, File)
A mural by Croatian-American artist Maxo Vanka titled “Croatian Mother Raises Her Son for War” is displayed inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
A 32-foot-high scaffold allows art conservation workers close up access to murals by Maxo Vanka on the ceiling in St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church as part of an ongoing preservation project in Millvale, Pa., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church, home to murals by Maxo Vanka, sits next to the Allegheny River in Millvale, Pa., Feb 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
After removal of a 32-foot-high scaffold, murals by Max Vanka depicting St. Mark, left, and St. Matthew, right, are revealed in St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church after undergoing preservation efforts in Millvale, Pa., Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Art conservator Naomi Ruiz looks at murals by Croatian-American artist Maxo Vanka in St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
A damaged portion of a mural by Maxo Vanka is seen in St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., on Thursday, Jan 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Art conservation technician Christina Cichra works on touching up a lion, symbol of the Gospel of St. Mark, in a mural by Maxo Vanka inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Feb 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Art conservation technician Celeste Parrendo, right, works on a mural by Maxo Vanka that depicts St. Matthew, inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Feb 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
Standing on a 32-foot-tall scaffold, conservation technician Celeste Parrendo works on repairing a mural by Maxo Vanka inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Standing on a 32-foot-tall scaffold, art conservationist Kate Pirelli works on cleaning a mural by Max Vanka depicting a lion and St. Mark inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Sitting on a 32-foot-tall scaffold, art conservator Cricket Harbeck works on cleaning a mural by Maxo Vanka depicting St. Mark, inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Standing on a 32-foot-tall scaffold, conservation technician Celeste Parrendo works on touching up a mural by Maxo Vanka inside St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Crafton Elementary School sixth-graders study the murals of Maxo Vanka in St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Crafton Elementary School sixth-graders study the murals of Maxo Vanka in St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Art conservation technician Angelica Marks works on touching up a mural by Maxo Vanka on the ceiling of St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, Pa., Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
A mural by Croatian-American artist Maxo Vanka titled “Transcendent Vision (including Disciples)” is seen in St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church after undergoing preservation efforts in Millvale, Pa., Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
The artist’s granddaughter said of the mural, “He always called it his gift to America.”
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