Will custom, conservation-level framing really make a difference with my artwork? What about the those low-cost, pre-made frames that come with their own mats and glass - won’t they get the job done?
When Joe went down into the basement of his girlfriend’s house to repair a leaking pipe, he would have never guessed that within hours he would be at The Conservation Center’s doors with a striking, but severely deteriorated, painting of Superman in hand. It was wet, stained, moldy, and even had insects living behind the frame. Fortunately, The Center’s team was at the ready to stop this kryptonite before it could do its worst.
As we move through the holiday season, our focus turns to family dinners, quiet snowfalls, and the joyful challenge of finding the perfect gift; the gift that will be treasured for years to come. And when the years take their toll on those items, we here at The Conservation Center consider it a special privilege to help in preserving those family treasures. This holiday season, we share with you an item brought to The Center by Mary, who reached out to see if it would be possible to restore one of her favorite childhood Christmas gifts: a circa 1964 Murray tricycle.
Although Chicago may be without the standard layer of snow for this time of the year, we here are The Conservation Center are lucky enough to have beautiful images around to remind us of a pristine snowfall. A client recently brought in just such a painting, though it wasn’t quite the impeccable snow scene it once was. Years of grime build-up and thick, discolored varnish had turned the crisp white snowfall into a dingy, brown landscape. But with some time, patience, and careful chemistry, Senior Paintings Conservator Amber Smith was able to bring the original colors back to this Oak Park snow scene.
When extraordinarily fragile pieces are treated by The Center, often the conservators recommend handling the pieces as little as possible to preserve their longevity. So when Gloria Diaz brought in a delicate lace mantilla and expressed that she would like it to be functional for future ceremonies, we knew we had our work cut out for us.
At the time Gloria brought in her mantilla, it had been used by three generations in twenty-four weddings, ten baptisms, on “Taking of the Veil,” and one First Communion. Since the lace garment had been both well-loved and well-used, it exhibited inevitable signs of wear. As Gloria noted, “I realized that the mantilla was near the end of its life if we did not do something to improve its condition. Because of its special place in our family, we wanted the mantilla to be something that existing and future generations would use.”
On November 13th, I gave a presentation on disaster preparedness at the Association of Registrars and Collection Specialists (ARCS) conference in New Orleans. The audience included nearly 700 museum registrars, collection managers, conservators, consultants, appraisers, and art shippers.
Given The Conservation Center’s history of treating artworks that have succumbed to fire and flood damage, it may surprise you to know that a few of the most common culprits of damage are poor materials, framing, and storage techniques. Luckily, with proper foresight and preparation, most of this damage is preventable. In this article we will examine some of the common "red flags" to look for in consideration of your own framed art and heirlooms.
The Conservation Center recently had the pleasure of working with Bill Hartel to treat “Regulations for the Army of the United States,” a 1913 U.S. Army military handbook.
Bill is an avid collector of rare books and acquires those that, in his opinion, “changed the world.” Highlights of his collection include a 1776 British first edition of Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense,” complete with handwritten defamatory comments about King George, and “Round the Moon” by Jules Verne, circa 1895, signed by the commander of the first actual voyage around the moon, Frank Borman. Bill is also an author and published the Chicago Tribune Best Seller “A Day at the Park” about Wrigley Field. Given the depth of his collection, a well-worn copy of an army handbook with a missing leather spine, fragile textblock, and water damage may seem like an anomaly. However, the book’s value lies in the role it played during a difficult time in Bill’s life.
A housing technique commonly used at The Center: Creating a sink mat to house paper pieces. Below, Toby Joyce, Director of Conservation Framing, demonstrates the technique:
The paper piece is carefully situated on top of the supporting mount board with an engaged stepped mat. Weights are used to hold down the paper, and ensure that the piece is centered through to the final step.
Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog Plate (Red), recalls birthday parties and carnivals from childhood. The playful subject matter is in stark contrast with the appearance of a metallic medium. In actuality, the piece is made from porcelain with a specially designed metallic glaze, likely to resemble Koons’ 10 foot tall stainless steel Balloon Dog sculptures. An interesting and intriguing piece, its contradictory appearance and composition implores the viewer to touch the piece. The Conservation Center was recently tasked with creating a mount and display case for this 2000 edition Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog Plate (Red). The piece is one of an edition of 2,300 Balloon Dog Plates. As the finish and structure of the piece is extremely fragile and sensitive, it is quite the task to handle the piece and design a mount to properly house the piece to ensure it is preserved and protected.
The exciting fall art season is upon us and The Conservation Center is ready to participate once again in the annual international art fair, EXPO CHICAGO! Now in its fourth year, EXPO CHICAGO is a four-day event (September 16–20) taking place at historic Navy Pier, featuring more than 140 of the world’s leading art galleries from 16 countries. This fair draws visitors from all over and continues to demonstrate Chicago as an important destination in the art world. As we have for the past three years, The Center is proud to serve as EXPO CHICAGO’s exclusive art conservation and custom framing provider. Our conservators will also be on-call and on-site to assist dealers and galleries whose pieces have sustained damage related to transportation and handling.
For most people, the top drawers of their bedroom dressers are reserved for mismatched socks, so it was a delightful surprise for Rick Eisenstein to find a 97-year-old photograph rolled up in his father's old dresser drawer. "When he was in the hospital, I was looking for some clothes to take to him and came across this rolled up picture," Rick explained. "His parents were very important to him--with that being said, he was not a very sentimental person and kept very few things from his younger days." This photograph, however was special: his father kept it for nearly 60 years. Rick made a decision to bring the picture to The Conservation Center for examination and conservation.
Recently, The Conservation Center was introduced to a little-known, yet charming, oil painting entitled The Musician by a French artist named Louis-Armand Dupont. "I believe Dupont started an art school. I don't know his other artworks; all I know is he loved to paint," shared Alice Morales, the painting's owner, as she discussed the background of the work she brought to us. "I discovered he was actually a wine producer." With a little research, we found the winery is still active and has a portrait of Louis-Armand proudly displayed on the wall. Located in the Pays d’Auge region of Normandy, the Louis Dupont Family Estate is run by the living descendants of Dupont, though their research found records of their family in the area as far back as 1703.
Readers of our newsletter may remember a story that was published in December 2014 about a 10th century Greek Codex we had received from The Center for Adventist Research at Andrews University in Michigan. The Conservation Center was proud to be given the assignment of conserving this precious work. The codex—a rare book containing portions of the Gospels According to Luke and John—was crafted on pages of parchment, written in iron gall ink, containing decoration in gold leaf and bound in leather. Our paper and rare books conservators joined forces and poured many hours of hard work into assessing the damage and researching the appropriate treatment solutions. Additionally, a treatment plan was designed and implemented, to protect this rare volume from further damage in the future.
“This is an important piece of our family history,” commented Cindy Egoroff Alexander while discussing a portrait of her grandfather, Emil Egoroff. Cindy and her family recently entrusted The Conservation Center to treat and reframe a black and white photograph of Emil. “We know very little of our grandfather’s life in Russia,” she explained, emphasizing how precious the few details they uncovered were to understanding and remembering her family’s past. Cindy graciously shared the history passed down through the family with our team, shedding light on the story behind this handsome portrait.
The Conservation Center is pleased to have been named “Best Art Restorer” in the August 2015 issue of Chicago Magazine! The “Best of Chicago” is an annual, exhaustively researched list compiled by Chicago’s editors and contributors. This year, 72 superlative services, shops, and activities in the Chicago area—in addition to 46 Readers' Choice award winners voted on by Chicago readers on chicagomag.com—were published. The Conservation Center was honored with a “Best of” within the Art Services category.
One of the misconceptions concerning work performed at an art treatment facility such as The Conservation Center is that an object or a piece of art must have significant value on the market to qualify for professional care. This is simply not the case. While many of our clients have high-end pieces that belong to large-scale collections and museums, our conservators also specialize in treating family antiques and heirlooms that have sentimental value.
Family heirlooms connect generations in a deep, personal way. From the handed down bible and grandmother’s knitted quilt, to a late 1800s baptismal gown and photos of a relative going off to war—anyone who has found or kept historic pieces in the family knows how moving they can be. These treasured items, passed down through the decades, provide insight into the lives of our ancestors and a richer understanding of our family's history.
The weather's heating up, but there are no signs of slowing down at The Conservation Center. From intricate conservation projects to private tours, our staff is hard at work in West Town. To celebrate the new season, we are bringing back our popular "A Day in the Life" photo series. With our camera in hand, we wandered around the lab and captured some amazing images to share with you.
There are few rites of spring more satisfying than the annual clean. And while spotless living spaces make a house a home, many of us unfortunately have to use harsh chemicals and solvents to achieve that goal. The application of products found under the kitchen sink can lead to chemical reactions on the surface of art objects that can prove to be quite serious, resulting in detrimental losses that are usually so much greater than the reward of a home cleaning approach. When it comes to caring for your art and antiques while freshening up around the house, we strongly advise our readers to adhere to the “DDIY” rule—Don’t Do it Yourself—and leave the job to professional art conservators.
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