Painted in 1932, Modern and Ancient Medicine by Victor Arnautoff is a true local treasure and a rare example of buon (true) fresco in the United States and the only one of its kind in Santa Clara County. For decades, the mural welcomed visitors to the former Palo Alto Clinic, now the Palo Alto Museum. Although Arnautoff used high-quality plaster and pigments, years of public exposure and frequent cleaning—from the 1930s through the 1980s—gradually took a significant toll on the artwork.
A major turning point came in the early 2000s, when the City of Palo Alto acquired the Roth Building. In 2016, the frescoes were formally accessioned into the City’s public art collection, allowing for a more coordinated and professional approach to their care. This milestone enabled conservation experts to thoroughly assess the frescoes’ condition and develop a long-term preservation strategy.
Launched in 2023, the first phase of restoration focused on the four large color panels. Through careful cleaning, stabilization, and inpainting, conservators Anne Rosenthal and Kiernan Graves removed decades of grime and non-original overpaint. The transformation has been remarkable—for the first time in decades, the color panels have regained their original vibrancy and clarity, appearing much as they did in the summer of 1932.
The project also confirmed the fragile condition of the lower grisaille (monochromatic) panels, which have undergone several restoration interventions over the past 90 years. A second phase of work, planned for 2027, will focus on these more delicate areas. Using a careful, staged approach, conservators will remove disfiguring coatings, stabilize the original materials, and restore visual clarity.
True frescoes, especially those incorporating grisaille, are exceedingly rare in the United States. Preserving Arnautoff’s Palo Alto mural is therefore about more than restoration; it is about preserving a unique piece of our shared cultural heritage for years to come.
Many thanks to Nadya Chuprina, Public Art Program Coordinator, City of Palo Alto, for writing this fascinating Palo Alto story.
Photography © Marco Zecchin