Art conservationist Darcie Flinn leaned over the stern visage of George Washington, painted by New Orleans artist Edmund Brewster and purchased by the city in 1819.
While she applied special chemicals with a cotton ball Tuesday, a colleague alongside her in the crimson-hued room in Gallier Hall polished a 19th-century brass mantle clock.
These were among the first small touches of a renovation effort expected to cost $5 million and encompass the entire interior of a building that served as New Orleans’ City Hall for a century and still plays a prominent role in Mardi Gras celebrations…