Striking gold
Boston College鈥檚 famous golden eagle statue has been greeting students and families from its perch on Linden Lane for nearly 70 years. Now, thanks to a meticulous restoration project, it鈥檚 shining brighter than ever.聽
In June, Facilities Management staff hired third-generation craftsman Walter Eayrs of Blackburn Building Conservation to regild the eagle, which sits atop a 30-foot column in front of Gasson Hall. Over time, due to continuous exposure to the elements, the statue鈥檚 gold-leaf coating had begun to chip away, exposing the cast bronze surface underneath and giving it a slightly tarnished appearance.聽
It took just over a week for Eayrs to prep, prime, and regild the eagle, which stands four feet high and has a six-foot wingspan. First, he used abrasive pads to remove corrosion and dirt, followed by a coat of yellow-tinted primer. Then, he began covering the statue in tissue-thin squares of 23.75-carat gold, a painstaking process that has changed little since ancient Egyptian times.聽
鈥淲e apply an adhesive called 鈥榮ize鈥� and when it鈥檚 ready, we use our fingers to push the leaf into the metal surface,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those truly hand-done operations鈥攜ou can鈥檛 use any tool and there鈥檚 no way to expedite it.鈥澛�
Eayrs said it was a "gratifying" to work on "such a beautiful, high-profile piece." Photo by Andrew Craig.
The gilding process requires careful time management: depending on the weather conditions, the adhesive needs between five and six hours of drying time to reach the perfect level of stickiness. If the gold leaf is applied too soon or too late, it won鈥檛 adhere correctly, and mistakes can be costly. To ensure he could complete each section in a single day, Eayrs often arrived on campus as the sun was rising.聽
Boston College adopted the eagle as its mascot in 1920, and received the original eagle statue as a gift from the estate of Larz Anderson in 1954. Anderson, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, had procured the statue from a Japanese caster, and displayed it in his garden in Brookline. In 1957, Boston College received the column and base from the city of Boston. The column was placed in front of Gasson Hall, at the end of Linden Lane, and the eagle sculpture was mounted on the top.聽Eventually, exposure to the New England weather took its toll, and the University replaced the statue with an exact replica in 1993. In 2019, the original statue was restored and featured in the McMullen Museum exhibit 鈥淓aglemania: Collecting Japanese Art in Gilded Age America,鈥� which revealed it to be a Japanese masterpiece from the Meiji period (1868鈥�1912).
鈥淭he details of it are absolutely incredible,鈥� said Eayrs, who worked from a lift to access the statue from all angles. 鈥淭he Japanese artists鈥� ability during that early period to capture the natural world was really far superior.鈥澛�
It took 2,000 leaves of gold to cover the statue, which should remain shiny and bright for at least the next three decades. Unlike other metals, gold leaf won鈥檛 rust or tarnish, and requires no exterior coating. Its longevity is one of the reasons it鈥檚 often used in outdoor applications like weathervanes, clock faces, and lettering on buildings, said Eayrs, who has worked on high-profile projects including the Newport mansions and the Old State House in Boston. Recently, he was hired to regild the gold dome atop the Wilbur Cross Library at the University of Connecticut.
鈥淎fter we did it, they won a national championship, so maybe a little bit of the gold rubbed off,鈥� he laughed. 鈥淗opefully, it鈥檒l do the same for Boston College.鈥澛�