Preserving and Restoring a Historical Mural at Fort Bliss Army Base, El Paso Texas

Preserving and Restoring a Historical Mural at Fort Bliss Army Base, El Paso Texas Story by Maj. Brian Bolton

Julie Stephenson, mural conservator from Fine Art Conservation Laboratories, applies heat to dried adhesive that was applied into paint layers of the mural, in an attempt to conserve the mural on the Ft. Bliss Army Base in El Paso, Texas at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center campus, and was painted by Cpl. Rudolph von Ripper in 1943.

In the second photo, Stephenson is injecting art conservation grade deep penetrating adhesive to stabilize paint that is lifting off the walls.

Treasures are found in dusty, forgotten buildings. Near William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Fort Bliss, Texas, building 7167 quietly houses one of those treasures. An 11- foot-tall and 26-foot-long mural painted in 1943 by then Cpl. Rudolph von Ripper, received some well needed rehabilitation work for preservation for future generations to enjoy.

The mural depicts several Americans of different races and from all walks of life with a large map of the United States. Within the map, the oil, lumber and mining industries are represented along with the country’s agricultural wealth. The words, “One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” are written at the top of the wall. At the bottom of the wall, "Our country’s freedom and its peoples’ way of life the Soldier and Sailor protects” is inscribed.

On one side of the mural stands a life-sized painting of an AfricanAmerican sailor, and on the other, an Anglo-American Soldier, depicting racial harmony as Ripper saw it in 1943. In between the Soldier and sailor, a diverse group of men and women stand next to the map.

Art conservator, Scott Haskins and Fine Art Conservation Laboratories, was contracted by Fort Bliss to stabilize the mural deterioration in order to preserve it. Haskins stated that the mural was flaking badly and that his company stabilized the paint to save the mural from further degradation.

Doug Yost, a contractor with Fort Bliss, stated that the Ripper mural has recently undergone professional stabilization, to allow the moving of the mural. "We are currently seeking funding to relocate the mural for permanent display," said Yost.

According to Ft. Bliss historians, the building served several functions in 1920, when the area was then known as the William Beaumont General Hospital, and it was the post library until 1972 when the current hospital was completed. The building most recently served as the Fort Bliss Armed Services Blood Donor Center until 2015. Ripper painted the mural

to beautify the library and express his gratitude to the people of the United States for their “friendship and courage.�

Ripper immigrated to the United States in 1938 after spending time in a Nazi concentration camp. He arrived at William Beaumont General Hospital, along with 200 other men for Army basic training. After completing his training, he was assigned as a laboratory technician to the general hospital and painted the mural during that time. Ripper finished the mural in April 1943, shortly before he transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers where he later earned a commission.

His experiences as a soldier and as an individual who had witnessed warfare influenced his artistic expression. As a result of his wartime experiences, Ripper’s paintings depicted death and were often described as distorted and grotesque. After the war, Ripper went on to become a Guggenheim fellow for fine arts in 1945 and again in 1947.

Haskins hopes to continue work on the Ripper mural now that chemical stabilization of the mural is complete. ~