Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum unveiled his latest plan to Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful ahead of America’s 250th birthday.
The move, to re-gild the Arts of War and Arts of Peace equestrian statues, was obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter, and it will ensure that the four horse statues, which are among the largest equestrian monuments in America, will be restored to their former glory.
The duo of statues was initially cast in Italy in 1950, and was received as a diplomatic gift in 1951; they were last fully regilded during President Richard Nixon’s administration in 1971.
“This is what the Golden Age of America looks like under President Donald J. Trump — revitalized monuments, restored infrastructure, safer streets and a capital that Americans can be proud of,” Aubrie Spady, the DOI’s Press Secretary, told the Reporter. “The Trump administration has demonstrated a historic commitment to preserving and enhancing our country’s most iconic monuments and memorials in Washington D.C., and Interior is proud to help lead these efforts to ensure no stone is left unturned in safeguarding our nation’s heritage for America’s 250th birthday and generations to come.”
In the decades since, the statues have deteriorated substantially; according to the Department of Interior’s (DOI) analysis, “the sculptures exhibit black mottling and deteriorated gilding”; “structural repairs are needed for underground vaults”; and their “granite pedestals show purple staining and require cleaning.”
In order to regild the statues, Burgum’s DOI will use contractors to bring the giant statues up to Trump quality. They’ll first strip the statues to remove all coatings and gilding, then prime them with industry grade epoxy, then dust and clean the surfaces.
Following that, the contractors will apply 23.75 karat extra-thick gold leaf — which is thicker and longer lasting than standard applications of leaf; that will amount to 55 pounds of gold — then they will polish the sculptures with squirrel hair brushes. Finally, they will clean them and replace the mortar on the granite bases. The pedestals themselves are symbolic; they each sport 36 bronze stars to commemorate the number of American states at the end of the Civil War.
The Arts of War sculpture was designed by Leo Friedlander, and will be regilded by the Fourth of July. The Arts of Peace sculpture, which was designed by James Earle Fraser, will be regilded in the two months following the historic Fourth of July celebrations.
While President Donald Trump made his name as a builder, Burgum himself is leaving an impact on both his home state of North Dakota and on Washington, D.C. As governor, Burgum successfully pushed for the construction of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota; he secured tens of millions of dollars in public and private contributions that helped facilitate the construction of the historic site.
Now, as Interior Secretary, Burgum has been tasked with beautifying America’s capital city. His most high-profile achievement has been salvaging the Reflecting Pool, but D.C. residents of all partisanships have also praised the DOI’s work ravamping and cleaning Meridian Hill’s fountains.
