When a portrait of General Charles E. Hovey, the first president and principal of Illinois State Normal University, was moved from Ewing Cultural Center to Milner Library’s Dr. Jo Ann Rayfield Archives in 2012, it was clear it had seen better days. There were poorly repaired holes in the canvas, damage to its frame, and a layer of dirt covering Hovey’s image.
“I knew proper conservation would take quite a bit of money, something I don’t have at the archives,” said University Archivist April Anderson-Zorn. “Most of the conservation and digitization we do is through donor funds.”
The Perry and Helen Obalil Endowed Fund provided the resources Becky Koch, conservator and preservation specialist, needed for the painting’s restoration. Koch located a conservator in Chicago that specializes in painting restoration and transported the portrait to its temporary home. Once restored, the painting was exhibited in Milner Library before joining other presidential portraits in the archives. The portrait restoration has helped Anderson-Zorn tell the first president’s story.
“When I give tours of the archives’ storage areas, I always point to Hovey and tell the story of how he helped form the 33rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. It’s an inspiring story full of bravery, perseverance, and love for this University and our country,” Anderson-Zorn said. “Seeing Hovey while you hear his story is powerful and moving.”
Anderson-Zorn and staff work tirelessly to collect and preserve University history, which entails digitizing items, creating unique preservation solutions for rare and fragile items, and investing in new technologies to present archived materials in classrooms.
“We simply cannot do our work at the Rayfield Archives without the generosity of donors who care about ISU history,” said Anderson-Zorn. “And thanks to the Obalil family, we can continue to tell Hovey’s story to new generations of Redbirds for many years to come.”
