Terra Cotta Conservation in the Art on Campus Collection

Christian Petersen created more than a dozen major terra cotta sculptures for then "Iowa State College" in Ames, Iowa in the 1930s and 40s. Ninety years of well-intentioned but sometimes damaging interventions—sandblasting, improper grout maintenance, moisture-trapping installations—created vulnerabilities that Iowa's freeze-thaw cycles have accelerated over time.

Terra Cotta Conservation in the Art on Campus Collection demystifies how University Museums is working to preserve these irreplaceable sculptures—including combining precision 3D scanning from ISU's Manufacturing and Teaching Labs with centuries-old ceramic techniques still practiced in England.

The exhibition features objects from two recent conservation projects: the recently rededicated Fountain of the Four Seasons and the ongoing effort to restore the History of Dairying fountain at the Food Sciences Building. Visitors can examine a full-scale 3D-printed replica panel, handle actual terra cotta samples, view historic preparatory studies Petersen created in the 1930s, and see how conservators balance artist intent with material reality.

In 1934, Iowa State College President Raymond M. Hughes directed Christian Petersen to work in terra cotta—"perhaps in tile or pottery"—because ISU's Ceramic Engineering Department could produce it on campus within a tight Depression-era budget.

The material allowed Petersen to create richly detailed public art at a fraction of the cost of bronze or marble, perfectly aligned with Iowa State's land-grant mission of serving everyone.

Terra cotta can endure centuries—Chinese, Turkish, Greek and Roman examples prove it. But it requires knowledgeable maintenance: proper grout care, drainage-friendly installations, gentle cleaning. The conservation challenges being addressed for clay-based ceramics today may stem from well-intentioned interventions that didn't account for these needs.

The exhibition highlights the partnership between University Museums and ISU's Manufacturing & Teaching Labs, where Sawyer Krotz conducted comprehensive 3D scans of the History of Dairying fountain.

The same technology was used to replicate the terra cotta for the Fountain of the Four Seasons, rededicated in 2024 after multi-year conservation.

After scanning, digital models are scaled up 5% and used to create forms that specialists at Darwen Terracotta in England use for traditional slip-casting—a process unchanged for centuries, now enhanced by Iowa State innovation.