Last month, the Art Institute‘s bronze lion statues were removed temporarily for deep cleaning. Now, those iconic statues are back!

And we have liftoff. The prowling lion goes first, the guardian cat goes next. pic.twitter.com/QtphOV0LBp

— Jake Sheridan (@JakeSheridan_) June 14, 2022

And those statues needed it… The lions hadn’t been thoroughly cleaned in decades!

The lions get a deep cleaning!

Thanks to Conservation of Sculpture & Objects Studio, Inc. (CSOS) for their great work.

See the lions cleaner (and greener) than ever next week when they're back in front of the Art Institute. pic.twitter.com/aAg3igCp9H

— The Art Institute of Chicago (@artinstitutechi) July 15, 2022

The cleaned-up statues look brand new. Check them out in their usual spot at the Art Institute.

Source: Chicago Tribune