October 21, 2016:

byVINNY VELLA

"Stegosaurus," the towering sculpture installed next to City Hall, will soon roar with new life thanks to a major revitalization project.

Work started Monday on restoring the two-story artwork, placed in the Burr Mall in 1973 by sculptor Alexander Calder. Contractors will strip away the piece's iconic red paint and expose the sculpture's base, which thanks to 40 years' worth of weather is corroded and damaged in certain areas, according to Abigail Mack, an art conservationist who's overseeing the project.

"We're not just talking about a new coat of paint," Mack said. "This is an opportunity to give it a 'generational treatment' and set it up for future maintenance."

This overhaul is the first of its kind for the sculpture — aside from occasional touch-ups to its top coat, "Stegosaurus" has remained largely untouched since Calder raised it. And, to hear representatives from the Ella Burr McManus Trust, which owns the artwork, tell it, the timing was carefully planned.

"We are really seeing signs of good revival in downtown Hartford," said Patrick Pannell, a member of the trust's board, making reference to the new leadership at the public library and Wadsworth Atheneum, as well as the pending arrival of UConn's downtown campus at the former Hartford Times building.

"We thought it was worth taking a deep breath and spending out of our endowment in putting 'Stego' in tip-top form," Pannell added. "We're just trying to be part of several attempts to get the city back into a lively, walkable shape."

He was adamant in stressing that the project, which will cost "well into six figures," is completely funded by the trust and won't take a cent of city money to complete.

And, he added, it won't take long to come to fruition. Scaffolding went up around "Stegosaurus" early Monday, with contractors working to secure the site for Mack and her staff.

By Oct. 11, the sculpture will sport a new, vibrant paint job, one that was carefully chosen through consultation with the Calder Foundation.

"Based on archival data, we know what kind of paint he used and have had success in replicating it," Mack said. "Anytime you undertake a project like this, the main priority is maintaining the artist's vision."

The new material is more than just visually appealing, however. It replaces the lead-based paint used by Calder with a special acrylic coating formulated to last much longer and require less maintenance decades down the line.

"It'll be another 30, 40 years before it needs to go to this stage again, and even then it won't require an undertaking this detailed," Mack said.

It's a process Mack knows well. In her 25 years in art conservation, she has helped rehabilitate a number of what she calls "monumental sculptures." That group includes some other Calders, including "Gwenfritz" at the Smithsonian National Art Museum in Washington and "Five Swords," located at a smaller art center in upstate New York.

As the "Stegosaurus" project gets underway, Ella Burr McManus Trust will host informational sessions about the artwork and its history, scheduled for Sept. 28 and Oct. 11.