Historic Painting Restored

A spectacular two-hundred-year-old Masonic painting from Oneida County, New York, has been restored by the Livingston Masonic Library. The restoration, performed by highly-trained experts at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, was made possible by a generous grant of $7500 made by the Harry S. Truman Foundation in memory of RW Albert I. Cohan. The Harry S. Truman Foundation is associated with Harry S. Truman Lodge, No. 1066, of New York City.

This emblematic oil painting on canvas, which measures 52 3/4 inches high by 40 5/8 inches wide, was originally used to assist in teaching the lessons of the fraternity. It is one of two early tracing boards donated to the Livingston Masonic Library in 1994 by Western Star Lodge, No. 15 of Bridgewater, New York. The Lodge, which had owned the paintings since their creation, was founded in 1797 and is one of the few Lodges in upstate New York to have retained its charter throughout the anti-Masonic period.

Over the years this work of art suffered from being stored in direct light and in an environment of shifting temperatures and varying humidity. Significant amounts of paint flaked off the canvas and large sections of the image were being lost. Through the foresight, generosity, and cooperation of Western Star Lodge, No. 15, and of the Harry S. Truman Foundation, this important piece of the nation's Masonic legacy has now been restored and stabilized so that it can inspire individuals in the years to come. The painting is currently on display in the Livingston Masonic Library's exhibit area.

The restoration of Masonic art works is central to the mission of the Livingston Masonic Library. If you would like to assist the Library with its activities, please contact us. All donations to the Livingston Masonic Library are tax-deductible.

©2005, The Chancellor Robert R Livingston Masonic Library of Grand Lodge. This page last updated 4/12/2008.