Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Memphis, Tennessee
Restoration and new mural - Photo: Jeffrey Jacobs
Awards
•
Memphis Landmarks Commission/Memphis Heritage, Inc. Public Building Rehabilitation
• American Institute of Architects, Memphis Chapter, Award of Excellence
• Painting and Decorating Contractors of America Picture it Painted Professionally Award, Historic Restoration
Challenge
To restore and renew the eclectic interior of the Catholic Spanish Colonial Revival church constructed in the 1930s, with decorative painting, mural conservation and a new apse mural.
Solution
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Memphis, Tennessee, had originally been decorated in the 1940s, and various artwork and decoration had been added to the worship space over the following sixty years. The result was an interior with an overall sense of confusion and disjointedness. To unify the decoration and artwork, a color palette and techniques that are appropriate for the period and context were selected.
CSS was commissioned to create the new apse mural, for which Murillo's uplifting Assumption of the Virgin was chosen as a model, while the two murals flanking the sanctuary were conserved by CSS to recapture their original appearance. The comprehensive restoration has returned beauty, order and unity to the Cathedral.
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