Art conservator Mark Erdmann is cleaning the camel statue this week on West Campus. The statue, which stands on Science Drive between the Biological Sciences Building and Gross Hall, has become a Duke landmark that adds a unique touch since its arrival 31 years ago.
The bronze camel statue, by British sculptor Jonathan Kingdon, arrived on West Campus in 1993 to honor the late Duke professor of biology Knut Schmidt-Nielsen. Knut Schmidt-Nielsen studied the physiology of the camel’s nose and wrote the authoritative text on animal physiology.
Erdmann’s cleaning procedure initiated with stripping away the statue’s coat of bronze paint and removing corrosion. He then started an application of a new chemical patina that begins as a brownish black, but then turns blue. That shade of blue will match the statue’s original color.
“The (color) will be what the artist wanted,” said Erdmann.
