JACKSON COUNTY COURTHOUSE

Jackson County Courthouse was built in 1908. Its interior contains colorful murals by artist Odin J. Oyen of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Adorning the interior of the Dome and the Courtroom walls, the murals depict subjects ranging from Education to Industry and Achievement, and from Despair to Courage and Truth. All murals were executed in oil on linen canvas in the artist’s studio and then attached to the plastered walls. The canvas murals in the Courtroom are located in the upper part of the walls. The largest and the most important mural is located above the judge’s bench. In the Dome, above the central space of the building, there are four large figurative murals and four small decorative murals.

Due to water infiltration from a leaking roof, the integrity of the murals was seriously affected; i.e., flaking and delaminating paint, as well as missing areas of paint. Several murals, especially the main mural in the Courtroom and the Dome murals were partly delaminated from their plaster support.

Restoration included all murals in the Courtroom and in the Dome above the central interior space of the building.

Restoration consisted of:

• Reattaching the delaminated canvas murals to the plaster support
• Consolidating flaking and delaminating paint layer
• Filling holes, cracks, and missing areas of paint
• Cleaning
• Inpainting, using reversible painting materials
• Varnishing with a reversible and UV protective synthetic varnish