Some may have been wondering why Frank Fleming’s The Storyteller has been surrounded by chain link fencing in recent days. Well, the 20+ bronze sculptures located in Five Points South are the subject of a conservation project undertaken by the Birmingham Museum of Art.

Shelley Paine of Nashville, TN and Jackie and Cameron Wilson (of Wilson Conservation, New York, NY) are cleaning and applying new patinas and hot and cold waxes to the sculptures to seal and protect the patina. Work on the sculpture is scheduled to be completed this Saturday, July 14

The conservators have special training in art history, object conservation and chemistry. So it looks like at least in this case the city had a reason to repaint the fountain portion of the sculpture, despite comments against