Published on Jun. 28, 2024, 4:22 PM
Uncertainty around summer heat means the statue will not be repaired.
Temperatures hovering near 37 degrees Celsius in mid-June slowly melted the 1.8 metre wax creation of the Lincoln Memorial, a tribute to the iconic 16th president of the United States.
“When we set out to do this project, the artist [Sandy Williams IV] did quite a bit of research with a number of companies that produce wax, and we looked at a lot of varieties of wax and looked at their melt points,” Kristi Maiselman, the Executive Director and Curator of CulturalDC, the sponsor of the exhibit, said.
Photo shows the wax creation prior to melting (Photo provided by artist Sandy Williams IV to The Weather Network)
“This particular paraffin wax has a congeal point of 140 degrees [F], so we never thought that temperatures of around 100 [degrees F] would see melting with him.”
Maiselman said the attention the heat-related mishap has caused has brought positive attention to the project they had not anticipated.
“We’ve been having conversations with the artist about whether or not it can be repaired,” Maiselman said.
