RACC celebrates "Leland #1" sculpture restoration, thanks to supporters

RACC officials and 80 residents from the American Plaza Condominiums, gathered at the condominiums’ Lincoln Pool Patio on a sunny Friday afternoon, August 20 to celebrate restoration of Lee Kelly’s Leland #1 located at SW Lincoln Street, between SW 2nd and 3rd Avenue. Guests enjoyed a glass of wine while hearing from artist Lee Kelly and art conservator Marie Laibinis-Craft about the original design and construction of Leland #1, and the actual conservation treatments performed to restore this seminal piece in the City of Portland’s Public Art Collection.

Created in 1975 by Lee Kelly, and Bonnie Bronson, Leland #1 is made of Cor-ten steel and porcelain enamel. This large-scale sculpture consists of three stacked constructions with brightly colored porcelain enamel panels attached to the sides. Its recent restoration brings this city treasure back to its original splendor.

RACC gratefully acknowledges the contributions from generous donors of money and services towards the rehabilitation of Leland #1. This generous outpouring helped RACC meet the matching funds requirement by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in its $20,000 grant to the project. The total cost of the restoration was $57,000, and RACC was able to garner $37,000 in cash and in-kind resources to complete the conservation on time and on budget.

“All of us at RACC are grateful for the NEA’s support to help repair Leland #1 and are thrilled with the local community’s response and commitment to match the grant and save this sculpture,” said RACC Executive Director Eloise Damrosch. “This is a very important piece in the City’s public art collection, and might well have been removed if it hadn’t been restored.”

RACC thanks the following local businesses, agencies and individuals who contributed to this important Public Art conservation project:

Links:
NEA Grants Announcement: www.arts.gov/news/news10/grant-announcement-april.html
Lee Kelly: www.leekellysculpture.net; www.elizabethleach.com
RACC Public Art Program: www.racc.org/publicart
Leland #1 in RACC’s public art database: http://bit.ly/d0F19i