Friends of the Uffizi Gallery is excited to announce that Veronica Atkins, a resident of Palm Beach, Florida, has made a generous $25,000 gift to fund the restoration of the Apollo with Lyre sculpture found in the collection of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
When asked what prompted this donation, Mrs. Atkins explained, “I knew immediately that I wanted to take on this project. The Uffizi Gallery houses a collection of art that is not just aesthetically pleasing, but an important part of the history of Western art. I’m very proud to be a part of this project.”
The marble “Apollo and Lyre” sculpture is intriguing because it was constructed in 1565 around the partial remnant of a sculpture that dates to 79 AD. The work is based on the story in Greek mythology of a contest between Pan playing his flute and Apollo playing his lyre, in which Apollo was pronounced the victor. Due to the dual nature of the work, this restoration is particularly sensitive. The first phase of restoration involves significant cleaning of dirt ingrained in the pores of the marble. Then, the putty that bonds the older sculpture to the newer one will need to be strengthened. During all of this, great care must be taken not to remove the natural coloring of the diverse marbles.
Lisa Marie Browne, executive director of Friends of the Uffizi Gallery, remarked, “Donors like Veronica Atkins are integral to our mission, but what we appreciate equally is her deep love for the art and culture of Europe and her commitment to its preservation. We are extremely grateful for her involvement.”
For more information and to see more projects in need of restoration, please click here.
