Our Winter 2013 issue features an essay by NCMA curator John W. Coffey on the curious provenance of a bust of John C. Calhoun. Marred during the Civil War, the bust was originally covered with cosmetics before being displayed at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Here, Coffey and NCMA conservator Bill Brown discuss their decision to remove the make-up for display and privilege one aspect of the bust’s story.