ISU students pass Christian Petersen sculptures, including the “Fountain of the Four Seasons,” every day while walking on campus.

But for a short time, students can come out of the cold and enjoy a few of his smaller sculptures in a warmer, indoor environment at the Brunnier Art Museum in the Scheman Building.

Art-restoration experts are working on 19 small Petersen sculptures at Brunnier in a display that is open to the public. The pieces range from a 43-inch-tall figure of a cornhusking champion to a 6-inch sculpture of buffaloes.

Matthew DeLay, curator of education at the Brunnier Art Museum, said most of the pieces on display were sold at an estate sale after Petersen’s death in the early 1960s. Iowa State is obtaining the pieces mostly through private donations.

“The show is based around generosity,” DeLay said. “The pieces are coming in because people have given them to us.”

He said the museum has been locating many of Petersen’s smaller sculptures from the list at the estate sale for months, but locating other Petersen works has been harder.

“Petersen did not keep a record,” he said. “How much he made and whom it went to is often a question.”

DeLay said one reason the university has attempted to acquire more of Petersen’s work is because of the prominence of his sculptures on the ISU campus.

The pieces acquired by Brunnier to date are being conserved by Conservation Technical Associates.

“This is the second week we’ve been working on these plasters,” said Francis Miller, sculpture conservator for the company.

Miller also has worked on some of the larger sculptures on campus, including the fountain, located north of the Memorial Union.

“It’s a different process in conserving these than the outdoor pieces,” he said.

Miller said the smaller pieces demand more individual attention because of the nature of the repairs.

“The greatest thing about the plaster work is the freedom the artist has in working,” he said.

DeLay said restoration process can be viewed by the public for a few more weeks, and the finished works will be on display until Feb. 11.

The restored pieces will join other Petersen works in September to honor the artist in a show titled “Christian Petersen: Sculptor.”