El Paso, Texas

Lady Justice is the survivor of two zinc sculptures acquired to adorn the roof of the El Paso County Courthouse in 1886. Although no makers stamp was found, this sculpture is almost certainly a production of the W. H. Mullins Company, based on its similarity to a well-documented Mullins catalog.  The County razed the Courthouse in 1917 and Lady Justice was relocated to various sites over the next 90 years, most recently into an indoor facility to prevent further decay.  

Cast and wrought zinc was commonly used for monumental and decorative statuary just prior to the turn of the 20th century.  Zinc, a metal less costly and easier to cast than bronze, offered the public an opportunity to purchase decorative statuary capable of mimicking more valuable statuary materials (bronze, stone) at a fraction of the cost.   However, cast and sheet zinc proved to be less permanent than it was originally claimed to be and its use in sculpture declined in the early 20th century.

Conservation Solutions, Inc. (CSI) was engaged in 2010 to perform a condition assessment of the sculpture. The objectives of the condition assessment were to document the present condition of the sculpture, make recommendations for its conservation, and provide a budgetary cost estimate for the recommended work.  The hollow sculpture is fabricated from sheet zinc and assembled using solder to form a continuous skin. Lady Justice once raised a set of scales in her left hand and held a sword in her right, both now missing. The sculpture stands approximately 93” from the top of her crown to the bottom of her feet and weighs approximately 200 lbs.

Major conditions and failures were documented, including wholly lost elements, minor voids and cracks, metal fatigue, corrosion, and a thick accumulation of failing coatings.  Paint analysis  documented over a dozen layers of white and off-white paint layers over a gray primer, possibly suggesting that the finish was intended to imitate marble.  Treatment recommendations  included specific guidelines for coatings removal, metal reforming and repair, fabrication of a new internal support system, surface preparation and re-coating with a high performance paint system.

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