US$5 million re-gilding restores golden finish to "Arts of War" statues near Lincoln Memorial

The National Park Service has re-gilded the two 80,000-pound "Arts of War" bronze equestrian statues at Washington, D.C.'s Memorial Bridge in 23.75-karat gold leaf, a roughly US$5 million project carried out by The Gilders' Studio in Maryland. Sculpted by James Earle Fraser and in place since 1951, the statues had lost their original gilding to decades of weather and pollution. The BBC reported the finished result on 29 July.