Field Museum conservator at work

In 2013 The Field Museum began conservation of a series of bronze statues created by Malvina Hoffman for the 1933 exhibition, The Races of Mankind. Museum staff spent 16 months conserving a total of 87 sculptures. Here, a conservator works to remove layers of skin oils, soap, and dust from a sculpture. Fifty of the restored pieces are featured in The Field Museum's 2016 exhibition, Looking at Ourselves: Rethinking the Sculptures of Malvina Hoffman.