Mural conservators at the Boston church made famous by Paul Revere are working diligently to uncover 20 angels hidden under layers of paint for more than a century.
Gianfranco Pocobene has been painstakingly revealing eight of the 20 angels that have been hidden at Old North Church.
The painted angels, with childlike faces and wings, were once a prominent feature of Old North Church, painted around 1730. In 1912, they were painted over with thick white coats as part of a renovation that restorationists are now working to reverse.
“When we first began the project six months ago, we had no idea what we would uncover,” Pocobene said as the church prepared to reveal eight angels.
Conservator Corrine Long, of Dover, N.H., restores nearly 300-year-old painted angels on the walls of Old North Church, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, in Boston. (AP)
“It’s really been quite a revelation to find these really interesting and historic works of art on the walls of the church that nobody has seen in our lifetime,” he continued. “Just to be part of a project where we are revealing something from colonial America is really extraordinary.”
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