Relax, Everything will be Bouquet.

During conservation treatment, it is our practice that all structural work (work pertaining to the support) should be addressed before cleaning and other aesthetic work.  This painting, Still Life by Carl Furbush, exhibited dramatic planar distortions (undulations) of its canvas support likely due to previous rolled housing prior to stretching.  A raking light shot is used to document any deformations of the canvas and/or media.  In this case, the light was situated along the top edge of the canvas to emphasize the strong horizontal creases and undulations.

Before Treatment, Normal illumination

Before Treatment, Raking light

In order to relax the strong undulations of the canvas, the painting was un-stretched and was humidified on a heat/suction table to evenly relax the entire length of the canvas. Following the humidification treatment, the painting was re-stretched and the surface was cleaned of a heavy grime layer. Click on the arrows of the slideshow beneath to see the finished treatment!

A family together again

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Grust, Family Scene, Before Treatment, Normal Illumination

Sometimes mishaps occur. Aged canvases can be exceptionally brittle, and when a fall or impact occurs, the result is usually a wide, gaping tear. The canvas fibers are pulled in the process and distortion occurs to the area of damage. The treatment of this fireside scene by F.G. Grust (1859 - 1909) illustrates how seemingly disastrous damages can be repaired. The painting took a fall and hit a chair, resulting in a large, L-shaped tear in the center and a small, C-shaped tear on the left side. The impact to the center caused the torn canvas to fold, resulting in a sharp crease and loss to the paint layers. The two details below show the major areas of damage.

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The tears were first locally humidified to reduce the distortion of the canvas and strong crease. The painting was then removed from the stretcher and applied to a working strainer. A working strainer allows for complete access to the reverse, for overall humidification treatments and mending. The painting exhibited major distortions to the canvas, with some areas appearing to pre-date the damage. Seen at an oblique angle, the distortions are visible in this before-treatment image.

While on the working strainer, the painting was completely humidified on a heat/suction table to reduce the planar distortions. In this process, the painting is placed face-up on the surface of the table. A thin film is used on the surface, with weights applied to the edges, to supply a seal for the vacuum cups. Suction is pulled through small holes cut into the film layer.  Once the humidified painting is completely dry, the suction can be removed.

After the painting canvas and tear were adequately planar, the painting was re-stretched, and the two tears were mended by joining the broken ends of the canvas using a combination of wheat starch paste and sturgeon glue. Losses in the paint layer were filled, and the paint layer was then cleaned of dirt and discolored varnish. The first image below shows the painting on its working strainer, during the overall humidification process on the heat/suction table. The second image shows the painting following cleaning and ready for inpainting.

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Before inpainting, the surface must be re-saturated with a varnish layer.  Inpainting is undertaken using pigments bound in a synthetic resin, as to ensure its reversibility, should the need arise. The treatment briefly described here, though complicated, was extremely rewarding. The great details found in the charming family scene can now be fully enjoyed. The images below illustrate the painting before and after treatment.

*All images are courtesy of the owner. Please do not reproduce or use the images without permission.

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Team work! Local conservators join together to treat Maxo Vanka's murals in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Millvale.

I have had the great pleasure of joining a team of local conservators in the Pittsburgh area to work on the murals of Maxo Vanka at the St. Nicholas Croatian Church in Millvale, located just a bridge away from the city of Pittsburgh.  Members of the conservation team include:  Patricia Buss, Teresa Duff, Cynthia Fiorini, and Rhonda Wozniak.  Rikke Foulke, head conservator of the team, has already successfully treated 10 of the murals in the church for a variety of condition issues, with the most intrusive being salt formation due to moisture in the plaster walls.  The salts have crystallized on the surface and behind the painted murals, causing paint loss and white encrustations on the surface.  The murals currently being treated are located on the ceiling underneath the choir loft.  Salt formations have not occurred as of yet, but the murals exhibit extensive instability and scattered areas of loss due to their location over the entrance doors and radiators. 

Image courtesy of Clear Story Creative

Image courtesy of Clear Story Creative

The mural presently undergoing treatment is featured above and depicts one of two battlefield scenes.  The imagery of the murals is both biblical in nature and reflects Maxo Vanka's pacifist stance during the first World War.  The images also reflect his enduring love for his motherland, Croatia, and many of the murals speak to the effects of war on the Croatian people and humanity in general.  The detailed image above depicts perhaps one of the more imposing images of the mural series, Justice.  Justice is depicted carrying scales, a sword, and is wearing a gas mask.  For more information on the murals' history and background info on Maxo Vanka, please visit the website of the The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka: http://vankamurals.org/maxo-vanka-life-work/.

As the work must be done on a scaffold to the ceiling, work is slow and methodical.  The unstable paint areas must first be consolidated (stabilized) with a dilute adhesive to prevent future paint loss.  The surface is then cleaned of black, sooty, surface dirt and inpainted using a reversible and stable medium to minimize the appearance of present losses. 

Image courtesy of Mindy McNaugher

There is currently a Heinz Endowment challenge to raise funds to help conserve the murals and install proper lighting.  We hope to complete the conservation of the battlefield murals by next year.  Check out the main donation website here: http://vankamurals.org/battlefields-campaign/ and click the button beneath to be directed.

Treatment of Dubuffet's "Façades d’Immeubles (Building Façades),"

Over the past year and a half, I have been working part-time in Washington D.C. on two museum contracts.  One at the National Gallery of Art and a shorter contract at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  My work at the National Gallery of Art consists of treating specific paintings, to get them ready for exhibition or travel.  One of my treatments, completed last year, was on Jean Dubuffet's "Façades d’Immeubles (Building Façades)," 1946. 

My treatment is featured on the Gallery's website where I've shared a blog on its condition issues and the use of a hot-suction table: http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/conservation/paintings/treatment-of-facades-d-immeubles.html.html

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An image of the painting during treatment, applied to a working strainer.  A working strainer allows the surface to be treated without the impediment of the original wooden stretcher.  Check out the rest of the treatment on the Gallery's blog!

A little conservation CSI: UV examination

Conservators have various tools and techniques to aid in the examination of works of art.  A handy tool that is easy to transport and can capture a lot of information is a UV light.  Paintings can also be photographed under UV radiation to capture this information.  Natural resin varnishes display greenish florescence when viewed under UV radiation.  Retouching has a tendency to appear black (or non-florescent) next to natural resin varnishes.  The images of Leisser's Ben Franklin are in normal illumination (left) and under UV radiation (right). 

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The during-treatment image shows two things:  The area that has already been cleaned of varnish and areas that exhibit overpainted damages - most notably the large damages on the subject's right thigh, right arm, and right hand.  The two images beneath show the same UV image with areas of cleaning/overpaint marked in red. The image on the left has a red line marking the area that has already been cleaned.  The image on the right has red circles to denote areas of old overpaint. 

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The images are important because they show that the overpaint exceeds the boundaries of the damage beneath.  The previous restorer was heavy handed and attempted to hide the damage under a heavy layer of overpaint.  The next blog post in the series uncovers what is under those overpainted areas. 

The treatment of Martin B. Leisser's portrait of Benjamin Franklin

Martin B. Leisser (1845-1940) was a prominent Pittsburgh area landscape and portrait painter. Leisser was born on the South Side of Pittsburgh and began his career by painting flowers on furniture. He
later lived and trained in Munich for several years with his family.
Leisser went on to paint the likenesses of the Carnegie family, among other socialites of the Pittsburgh elite, and would be known as “the father" of the art school at Carnegie Tech. He was also the
headmaster of the former School of Design for Women.

Though better known for his Pittsburgh landscapes, his portraits employ the same attention to detail, subtle hues, and softness of hand.

One of his winter scenes was featured in this recent “Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette” article:
http://www.post-gazette.com/life/holidays/2014/12/25/Landscape-artist-captured-mood-of-Sixth-Avenue-Downtown-in-1902-Pittsburgh-snowstorm/stories/201412250027

Martin B. Leisser's portrait of Benjamin Franklin is currently owned by Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, and hangs in the U. Grant Miller Library. The painting is currently being treated due to damage sustained by a fall and subsequent impact with a desk. 

Before Treatment

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin by Martin B. Leisser

Before treatment

Tear sustained during impact, before treatment

Area of cracking overpaint

The damage sustained by the impact mainly consists of a four-inch tear above the subject's head. Aside from the damage, the painting has been the apparent recipient of restoration attempts, presumably by a restoration hobbyist, and was lined to a preprimed canvas. There is
also a large area of damage with cracking overpaint on the subject's thigh, in addition to excessive overpaint in scattered locations, uneven varnish, and scattered areas of flaking. In order to treat the tear above Ben's head, the old lining and restorations required removal, as the lining canvas was failing around the edges and around the area of damage.

I look forward to sharing the progress of this treatment with you. Stay tuned for updates and during-treatment photographs!