Philly's public sculptures get annual cleaning and repair work

Nov 15, 2023

Zach Tatti spent his Memorial Day the usual way, for him at least: Six feet up on a ladder, getting up close and personal with some of Philadelphia's most prominent pieces of public art.

Tatti, an art conservator, made his annual trek to Philadelphia to clean and restore nearly 40 sculptures throughout the city. It's been a tradition for Tatti's family business since the 1980s, through an agreement with his father, Steve, and the Association for Public Art, which owns the pieces.

"It's the start of the tourist season and we want all the monuments in tip-top shape," Tatti said as he took a break from working on Spanning the Continent, part of the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial along Kelly Drive near the Girard Avenue bridge.

"People are coming outside, and we want the sculptures to look good for public perception of art," he said.

For the next three weeks, the Manhattan-based Tatti will be power-washing and applying coats of protective wax to 35 statues, including The Labor Monument in South Philly, Dickens and Nell in West Philly's Clark Park, and the park fountain in Rittenhouse Square.

Location and conditions vary what's required: Statues under trees, for instance, tend to accumulate more dirt, while sculptures near roadways, like Kelly Drive, are more susceptible to black mold.

"Each monument has its own story and history," Tatti said. "There are always unique details we need to look for each year."

Art conservation runs in his family. His grandfather, Alexander Tatti, was a foundryman in New York City, casting molds for sculptors. Gradually, Alexander and his son, Steve, noticed that the artists they worked with had little interest in restoring or repairing their pieces. They preferred, Tatti said, to move on to new works.

Steve Tatti studied conservation overseas, adding to his foundry skills. The Tatti father-and-son team's first major conservation project came when they helped repair portions of the Statue of Liberty in the early ‘80s.

Gradually, Steve Tatti got his sons Nick and Zach involved. Even as kids, they tagged along on jobs, helping carrying equipment and watching their dad work.

Now, Zach has come full circle, working on impressive jobs of his own. About 10 years ago, he helped restore portions of Cleopatra's Needle, a obelisk in Central Park originally erected in ancient Egypt in 1475 BC.

His work in Philly, will be a little less delicate. But just as important, he said.

"The history we get to be face-to-face, seeing it up close, is a really unique experience," Tatti said.