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The Grand Reopening of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts

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The Grand Reopening of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts

The Conservation Center often assists museums, institutions, foundations, and non-profit organizations with conserving and caring for their collections. In addition to comprehensive conservation services, The Center's team assists with long-term preservation planning, digitization of archives and historical documents, creation of custom displays, packing and transportation, and long-term storage of collections. Over the past two years, The Center has worked with the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA) on several conservation projects while their building underwent an expansion and renovation campaign, partnering with renowned architecture firm Studio Gang to design their new facility. 

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Conserving Bathsheba

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Conserving Bathsheba

Every year, The Center receives thousands of items of all kinds, yet some truly stand out. Bathsheba (1708) by Willem van Mieris arrived at The Center from the art collection at Notre Dame University, Indiana. As construction progresses on Notre Dame's new Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, The Conservation Center has been busy conserving select pieces from the collection. These artworks will be displayed in the new facility, set to open in November 2023. Preserving artwork is always an honor, but parting with this one was bittersweet. Our CEO, Heather Becker, even shared, "I didn't want this painting to leave."

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Part 2: Reviving The Assumption of Mary

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Part 2: Reviving The Assumption of Mary

In August 2022, we shared the first stages of treatment of "The Assumption of Mary," a nine-foot-tall painting from St. Anthony Catholic Church in Davenport, Iowa. Nearly a year has passed since the treatment journey began, involving hundreds of hours of work. We are excited to present the final chapter of this enthralling painting's conservation tale.

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Phillis Wheatley-Peters (1753-1784) African Poet in America, by Kerry James Marshall

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Phillis Wheatley-Peters (1753-1784) African Poet in America, by Kerry James Marshall

For many years, the team at The Conservation Center has enjoyed working on many compelling projects for the American artist Kerry James Marshall. Our team appreciates his personal visits and collaborations because they lead to complex discussions about artistic processes, tools, concentration, ethics, and more. For EXPO CHICAGO 2023, I asked Kerry if there was anything he would like us to treat and frame that we might share in our educational booth this year, and Kerry said he would drop something by.

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Preparing Three Partridges

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Preparing Three Partridges

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 part of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Art (AMFA) collection in Little Rock, Arkansas. 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. 

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Poissons on a Panel Painting

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Poissons on a Panel Painting

Panel paintings are particularly temperamental. Before painting on canvas became popular, paintings were often executed on wood panels. This could be either a single board or panels joined together, often with a grid of wooden slats on the back to provide support called a cradle. This is the case with Etude de Poissons de Mer Panneau. A still-life study of sea fish, this cradled panel painting is attributed to Jan Brueghel the Younger. Brueghel was a Flemish painter, who lived from 1601-1678, placing this painting from the 17th century and approximately 400 years old. The current owner's father purchased the painting years ago, who loves this painting "because of the skill of painters at that time ... plus this painting is by the grandson of the great Pieter Bruegel the Elder!"

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Particularities of Parchment

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Particularities of Parchment

As a conservation laboratory with 40 years of history and ten conservation departments, we see a wide variety of items for treatment. All come with their nuances and peculiarities, and parchment is no exception. Parchment - writing sheets made from prepared animal skins - presents particular challenges for conservators and framers. While everything may seem ordinary, what often happens inside a parchment piece's frame tells another story.

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Karl Wirsum's "Buster" Marionette in need of a Custom Mount

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Karl Wirsum's "Buster" Marionette in need of a Custom Mount

This year the art world lost an artist whose name had become ubiquitous with the Chicago art scene: Karl Wirsum (1939 - 2021). A graduate of the School at The Art Institute of Chicago and a lifelong Chicagoan (a short teaching stint at Sacramento State University in the 1970's the only exception), Wirsum was a part of the Hairy Who group of Chicago artists in the mid 1960s. Truly, no collection of Chicago art is complete without a work by Wirsum.

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Gilding a Gorgeous Frame

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Gilding a Gorgeous Frame

Thick or thin, matte or metallic, carved or clean-lines: fine art frames can fade into the background or compete with the artwork it displays for the viewers attention. The frame for The Annunciation does just that, with carvings, oil and water gilding, and yellow and red bole undertones - it truly is a work of art all on its own.

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A Gem of the Shedd

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A Gem of the Shedd

Our home base in Chicago has many cultural jems, and The Conservation Center has recently had the privilege of working with one of them- the beautiful Shedd Aquarium. Working closely with us throughout the conservation process, the Shedd Aquarium sent us a work that does not depict one of their thousands of species of fish, as you might have guessed, but rather a portrait of their generous patron and founder, John Graves Shedd.

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Cleaning a Crazy Quilt

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Cleaning a Crazy Quilt

Crazy quilts – a textile trend in the late 1800s – are often anything but crazy. These one-of-a-kind treasures are intentional statements, consisting of irregular shapes, intricate embroidery, and a myriad of fabrics. When a crazy quilt from 1890 was brought to The Center for treatment, our Textile Conservator was thrilled to work on such a unique piece.

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An Autographed Piece of History

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An Autographed Piece of History

The West Foundation, which awards grants to the arts and to humanitarian, cultural, and civic organizations centered in the Lakeshore, Wisconsin area, is no stranger to treasures – (read about their stunning Lester W. Bentley mural) but when this autograph book was brought to The Center for treatment, we knew it was something truly special.

Kerry James Marshall's "Vogue" Cover

Kerry James Marshall's "Vogue" Cover

Vogue's September issue has always been important in the fashion world: packed with editorial shoots and advertisements, the September issue signifies what's seen as the biggest moment of the year for the industry. In a historically unusual move for the magazine, two artists were chosen to create the covers for this year's September issue: Kerry James Marshall and Jordan Casteel. Marshall, widely considered one of the greatest living artists, chose to paint a fictional character in a formal white evening dress by Off-White. Self-possessed and unflinching, the portrait is stunning – and we were honored to frame it for Marshall here at The Conservation Center.

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Hello Pretty "Yellow Lady": Shedding Light on an Ed Paschke Painting

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Hello Pretty "Yellow Lady": Shedding Light on an Ed Paschke Painting

Well before Matt Groening’s Marge Simpson character became pop icon, artist Ed Paschke (1939–2004) created his own version of a Yellow Lady in 1969. In the same way that the bizarre appearances and situations as depicted in “The Simpsons” comment on pop culture, Paschke’s manipulations of mass media aim to do the same. The technicolor tones and flat background aim to dissociate the woman from her body and her surroundings; the addition of the admiring man takes on the role of the consumer and the viewer, aiming to make the voyeur uncomfortable. While only minor conservation was needed for this vibrant painting, the private collector knew very little about its history, causing us to reach out to the Ed Paschke Foundation and even the artist’s daughter, Sharon Paschke. Neither was familiar of the piece’s existence, and Sharon, especially, was excited to see a new example of her father’s early work. In order to discover more about this very special Yellow Lady, we studied the canvas under ultraviolet light and found some surprising details. With these new findings, The Conservation Center was able to shed new light on this painting for its owner as well as the Paschke family. 

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The Financial Lives of U.S. Presidents (and How We Conserved Them): The First National Bank of LaGrange (FNBLG)’s Presidential Checks Collection

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The Financial Lives of U.S. Presidents (and How We Conserved Them): The First National Bank of LaGrange (FNBLG)’s Presidential Checks Collection

The First National Bank of LaGrange (FNBLG) recently brought its Presidential Check Collection--one of the most comprehensive in the country--to The Center for conservation. This assemblage of checks written by 39 of the 43 U.S. presidents captures a unique piece of American history and gives a glimpse back into the chief executives' professional and private financial lives.

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Truisms

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Truisms

A friend and long-time supporter of The Center recently brought in a piece to update its display. The artwork, which is composed of many individual artworks— plaques with various texts by Jenny Holzer— was to be rearranged and given new framing materials. The result is a work that is more cohesive and visually pleasing.

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Conservation-Grade Framing and Display: A Word from the Pros

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Conservation-Grade Framing and Display: A Word from the Pros

Framing and displaying an artwork properly can help draw attention to a work, enhance its visual appeal, and keep it safe. Poorly framing or displaying a work of art, on the other hand, can lead to discoloration, fading, acid burn, and other severe and unnecessary damage.

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Shattered in Shipment: Saving a Work from Broken Glass

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Shattered in Shipment: Saving a Work from Broken Glass

At The Conservation Center, we are acutely aware that accidents happen, so that is why we offer our services at EXPO Chicago every year.  Our team of art handlers and conservators prepare annually to assist in every way possible as hundreds of pieces of art are installed in Navy Pier over two short days.  This year we assisted with a piece that suffered damage from international shipment.  Somewhere along the way, the glass shattered and the paper piece underneath was in need of a quick rescue.

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Timeless Techniques: Treating a Gilded Mirror

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Timeless Techniques: Treating a Gilded Mirror

The Center's Gilding Department specializes in the preservation of frames and objects with gold, silver, and metal leaf applied to the surface. A wonderful example of the type of projects our Gilding Conservators frequently undertake recently came to us in the form of a mirror in need of conservation.

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