Preparing Three Partridges — The Conservation Center

French painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841 - 1919) was a leader in the Impressionist painting style. Renoir is known for his use of light and shadow, capturing the atmosphere of the subject matter he was painting. Three Partridges is a still-life oil on canvas painted by Renoir circa 1880 and is on permanent loan to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA) in Little Rock, Arkansas from the Jackson T. Stephens Charitable Trust for Art. While AMFA is undergoing an expansion and renovation by Studio Gang Architects (who also designed our facility), The Conservation Center is assisting with the care and conservation of items from their collection.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Limoges, France, 1841 - 1919, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France), *Three Partridges*, 1880, oil on canvas, 22 3/8 x 26 1/4 x 4 1/4 in., On loan from the Jackson T. Stephens Charitable Trust for Art. Before treatment.

Three Partridges arrived at The Center for examination by our painting and framing departments. The original stretcher was previously thinned and had been screwed onto the back of a new stretcher. The original canvas had also been lined to a secondary linen support in the past, and the original tacking edges (the edge of the canvas used for attachment, turning it over the sides of the stretcher) are no longer present. There was evidence of small, age-related cracks in the lower right quadrant that are considered stable. There was also evidence of previous inpaint from an earlier conservation campaign, a 1"x1/8" area in green above the left-most-pigeon that continues to match the surrounding original paint. The painting has a synthetic varnish layer, and the surface was coated with light surface grime throughout.

The frame comprises wood, gesso, gold leaf, and red bole. While the frame is generally in good condition and the miters are stable, the proper top right and bottom left corners were open. The frame also exhibited abrasions and scratches throughout that are intentional. The frame also showed minor intentional gesso and gilding losses throughout, with minimal recent losses. A light layer of surface grime was noted on the surface. The finish is intentionally distressed and original to the piece.

As the painting was already in stable condition, Associate Paintings Conservator Rebecca Vodehnal recommended a minimal treatment for Three Partridges. As is often the case with notable works, there were several labels on the stretcher contributing to the work's provenance and inscriptions on the stretcher bars. The first step of the treatment was to encapsulate the labels in Mylar to protect and preserve them with the painting.

Then, the painting was removed from the frame so it could be carefully cleaned to remove the light grime from the surface using appropriate conservation methods. The painting reverse was cleaned of grime using a soft brush and vacuum.

The frame also underwent minimal treatment by Senior Conservator of Furniture Stephen Ryan. The open miters were filled, and the recent areas of loss from the flaking gesso and gilding were consolidated with conservation adhesives. Then, the frame was minimally cleaned of surface grime before the recent small areas of loss were inpainted to emulate the surrounding surface.

Before being reinstalled into the frame, the liner was replaced with a comparable new fabric-wrapped liner. Then when reinstalled into the existing frame, a new acid-free Coroplast backing board was attached to the reverse to provide additional protection, and the labels were placed on the backing board. Conserved and reframed, Three Partridges returns home to the new Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, opening to the public on April 22, 2023. It has been a pleasure to help prepare treasures from the AMFA for their new home.

Carissa Tonner